Kurumu and Tsukune's Romantic Adventure!
by Mystickenji
Summary: AU. Instead of only meeting Moka, Tsukune's first encounter with youkai includes Kurumu as well. After that incident and learning that he's a human, the duo take him under their wing. Meanwhile, Tsukune resolves to learn more about them and about the wider world of youkai, not only for survival, but also for friendship, and maybe more if a certain succubus has her way...
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Rosario+Vampire belongs to Akihisa Ikeda. Scenario and original characters are mine. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1 – "Call me Kurumu-chan, please!"

A desolate wasteland. An overcast sky, filled with menacing clouds and rampaging bolts of lightning. Trees that looked as if they had been born dying. Gravestones and skulls instead of rocks. The constant laughing caws of crows and ravens. And in the distance, a large collection of gothic ramshackle buildings that he could see all manner of humanoid creatures approaching.

Aono Tsukune turned back to the bus driver. "…Are you sure this is the right place!?"

The man simply nodded, his eyes glowing underneath his cap. "Yep… Welcome to Youkai Academy! Hehehehe… do be careful now boy… it can be quite a scary place!" The bus driver laughed out loud, closed the bus door, and drove off, leaving Tsukune with his bags by himself. Tsukune could only stare in shock as the bus left him behind in this horror movie world.

"Oh man… what a creepy place. It's completely different from back home or anywhere else I've ever been! How did I end up here!?"

He then remembered about how he failed all his entrance exams and so had no choice but to enroll in this dubious-looking boarding school in order to have any hope of an education. His family and friends had wished him the best before he headed off into the mysterious unknown. He could even remember his dad making a joke of the name, thinking it referred to the teaching style, and his parents hoping the school would shape Tsukune into a bright scholar.

It looked like the reality would be far worse…

Tsukune sighed, grabbed his bags, and headed towards the biggest and most ominous building he could see, which he assumed to be the main school building.

"Scary is right… this place is super creepy… I just want to go home… it's okay to be a dropout, right? I can just work fast food or something like in an anime, right?"

He continued complaining to himself, not hearing the sound of an out of control bike heading straight for him until it was almost too late. He heard something moving through the air as well.

"Look out!" a female voice rang out, behind him.

"Huh?" Tsukune turned around, but the world swiftly become a blur, and then fell into darkness. The world was still dark as he regained consciousness, and he felt that he was lying on top of something oddly soft, his face planted in something pliant. He felt a weight on top of him as well. So he was sandwiched between… who or what exactly?

Tsukune perked up his head from its resting place, and stared directly into the purple eyes of a blue-haired school girl. She looked a little embarrassed, but was also smiling through her blush. She broke the silence with a giggle, as he quickly realized where his head had just been as his face turned just as red. He was pinning her down too, to make things even more awkward.

"Do you like them? Soft, aren't they?" she said.

Tsukune found himself subconsciously wanting to answer yes and drop his face back into… _hey wait a minute… this girl has to be a youkai, right!?_ he thought to himself. Could it be true? It had to be! It's not like they were hiding anything with the name and environment. This must be a school for monsters, one that he, a human had found himself in. A bout of sudden nerves broke him out of whatever spell he was under and let him focus on the girl and the now moving and groaning weight on his back. Said weight fell off with a distinctly feminine yelp.

The purple-eyed girl giggled again, and Tsukune realized he should probably get off of her. And also introduce himself, figure out who the other girl was, and other things that would help him take his mind off of…

Tsukune stood up and offered the girl a hand. "Sorry about that! I'm Aono Tsukune. You are?"

The blue-haired girl took his hand. "Kurono Kurumu. Please be a good friend to me, okay?"

Tsukune helped her up and she promptly started leaning in to him. Apparently, she was dead set on making sure her chest was firmly pressed into his left side. He couldn't imagine why, or what kind of monster would do such a thing. Blushing, he forced his attention onto the other girl. She was also clearly a school girl, with pink hair and a hand held to her head.

"Hey… are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes… I just… I have anemia…" she mumbled as she took hold of his extended right hand, which he now realized was covered in blood in places. Somehow, none of the blood had gotten on Kurumu's uniform, and it looked like quite a bit was on his. But before he could ask if one of them knew where the infirmary was, the pink girl started gently licking the blood off his arm.

Shocked, Tsukune cried out and fell backwards, taking the two girls down with him. Kurumu positioned herself so that his head was cushioned by her chest, while the pink girl now had a clear view of Tsukune's neck, which she leaned into and promptly bit, starting to…

_Is she… drinking my blood!?_ thought Tsukune. Even more freaked out than before, he tried to push the girl off of him, but to no avail. Not until Kurumu finally noticed what was happening and joined in while saying, "Hey, back off! He's mine!", was the girl able to be pried off of him. The pinkette was dazed with a flushed face and was breathing heavily.

"Kurono-san, can you…?" She was pressing him down into her body. Not that he minded terribly (_going to have to examine that later…_ he thought to himself), but he did still need to find the boy's dorms… and the infirmary… and probably the library, but after those for sure.

She interrupted. "Call me Kurumu-chan, please! You want to get up already, Tsukune-kun? If you insist…" She let him go, making a pointed effort to look displeased. Then she noticed his wounds. "Oh no, you're hurt! That must have happened when we ran into you! …but how come you're still injured? Most youkai can shrug off something like that… the vampire and I are fine."

Tsukune barely resisted the urge to panic and tried to make up a convincing story. "Uh… well, I… haven't eaten in a while, so…" Kurumu was still looking at him quizzically, staring directly into his eyes as if she were trying to see into his soul. "And with the whole 'vampire drinking my blood thing', I'm feeling a little weary, and that isn't helping." That part was true at least.

"Ummm…" the pink girl finally decided to speak up, holding up the wreckage of her bike. "Sorry about that… I just lost control…" She was still looking at Tsukune as if he were a particularly delicious meal, but had regained enough control to keep her eyes locked on Tsukune's face. "I normally drink out of hospital bags, so when I smell fresh blood…"

She took a deep breath as if to regain focus.

"Anyway… I'm Akashiya Moka, and I'm terribly sorry for running you over and then forcefully drinking your blood! Kurumu and I were racing and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going…"

"…Meaning I had to dive in and save you!" added Kurumu, beaming with pride.

Tsukune wanted to say something, but instead he staggered and would have fallen over if the two girls didn't reach out for him and prop him up.

"Ah! Sorry! I'm making a terrible first impression, aren't I?" said Moka apologetically. "Let me help you get to an infirmary."

"My bags…" Tsukune was able to mutter despite the fog in his head.

"I'll get them!" piped up Kurumu. She glanced at Moka first, and then left Tsukune to her for a moment while she easily hefted up his two bags in one hand. She then offered the other arm to Tsukune, which he gratefully accepted.

And so, this was how Tsukune's first day at Youkai Academy began, with him fainting in the arms of two cute girls as they dragged him and his belongings to the infirmary.

* * *

Tsukune woke up later in a hospital bed. He looked to his right and saw that his right arm was bandaged up and that Moka and Kurumu were sleeping on a nearby bench, leaning on each other for support. His bags were nearby. He decided not to wake them and turned to his left and saw a nearly-empty bag of blood hanging from a metal pole with a tube running into his left arm.

_Well, this has been… a day_, thought Tsukune to himself. _So… if I've been enrolled in a school for youkai, does that mean all the staff are youkai as well? And why do they have human blood here? …I really hope that's human blood and not something else…_ He sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. Is this what he had to look forward to every day? The thought of dropping out was still pretty tempting… but maybe if he made friends with these two girls, it wouldn't be so bad?

They seemed friendly enough, if a little forceful. Not that he could blame them; they thought he was one of them. Right, he still needed to figure out if he should keep that a secret or not…

He turned back to the girls and saw that Kurumu was suddenly wide awake and watching him intently. He flinched and jumped up into a sitting position, which she took as a good sign and leapt onto him, smooshing his face in her chest once again. "Yahoo~! I'm so glad you're up now, Tsukune-kun!" When she realized Tsukune wasn't replying, she freed him, meaning he could now take a deep breath and gather his bearings.

At the same time, Moka fell over onto the bench. She made a surprised noise upon impact and promptly woke up, flailing and falling onto the floor.

Kurumu turned to Moka, and judging that she was fine, turned her attention back to Tsukune. "You _are_ OK now, right? You've been knocked out for hours over such a minor injury…"

Tsukune wouldn't have called 'being run over' minor, but he let the matter drop as that would lead to further questions. He did say to the two of them that he would be fine which reassured Moka and made Kurumu even more pleased. He asked them why they were still here. Moka said she felt guilty about the incident and wanted to wait until he woke up. Kurumu was keeping an eye on the vampire, and also wanted to make sure that Tsukune would be fine.

"Aono-kun, if you'll be fine, then I'll be on my way." Moka said while standing up. "I…" She looked at the two on the bed, glanced away, and furtively glanced back. "I hope we can become friends!" Kurumu was glaring daggers into the vampire girl's back and Tsukune was thinking the matter over as Moka departed. Sensing her foul mood, Tsukune turned to Kurumu and spoke.

"I hope we can become friends too, Kurono-san."

Kurumu blushed, then fumed and poked Tsukune in the chest. "Call me Kurumu-chan! I insist!"

"Alright then… Kurumu-chan," he replied, blushing a little from the sudden familiarity.

She giggled and practically jumped off of the bed. "Okay then, Tsukune-kun! I'll come talk to you later!" She waved him goodbye as she left. As she was doing so, a nurse appeared with most of her skin underneath her work attire wrapped in bandages. He supposed that she had to be some kind of mummy then. As if she could feel his stare, she turned to look at him.

"Ah, Aono-san, you seem to be doing well for a… well, you know. You should be able to leave soon, probably sometime tomorrow. It isn't too serious, after all. Make sure to eat a lot so you can recover naturally. And don't worry, that is human blood… though you might not want to know how we got it."

Tsukune gulped nervously. "Ah… is it safe for me to…"

The nurse cut him off, knowing where this was going. "Don't let it become common knowledge. But if you plan on making friends with those girls, you'll have to tell them eventually. One of them seems to have taken a liking to you and probably won't care either way. The other will hopefully be the same. In any case, don't come here too often either; it'll cause both of us trouble. To be honest, you should just drop out and run away while you can. Those like you don't have a high survival rate at Youkai Academy. I'm sure you can see why now."

Tsukune nodded. But… he didn't want to run away. So making friends with those girls would be his only option to survive. Besides, it's not like he wanted to go through high school friendless…

"Alright… I'm going to lock up now. I'll come back in the morning. Good night Aono-san."

"Good night, ummm…"

"Tsumugi-sensei."

"Thank you, Tsumugi-sensei."

The nurse walked off. The lights turned out, leaving Tsukune in darkness. Eventually, sleep claimed him, and he dreamed of blood drinkers and soft-bodied girls.

* * *

Sure enough, Tsukune woke up the next morning feeling much better, if a little stiff and sore. He heard some shuffling around and activity outside his field of view, and assumed that was coming from the infirmary staff. Not having anything else to do, he sat and thought for a bit about his situation and then eventually drifted back off to sleep.

Kurumu, elsewhere, woke up in a great mood, and practically leapt out of bed. She was feeling super confident in her plan to find her "Destined One" by assembling a harem since the first member seemed quite fond of her already. And to think, she hadn't even used any of her supernatural charm abilities on him at all! Only her natural gifts. She giggled to herself, certain that everything would work in her favor, as she got ready to visit Tsukune.

Along the way, she ran into Moka. The pinkette didn't seem to have slept well, having bags under her eyes that she didn't bother to hide. Bad dreams, Kurumu guessed. The two talked briefly as they headed to the infirmary, Kurumu teasing Moka over her desire to drink more of Tsukune's blood. Moka claimed she couldn't help it if fresh blood was just that much better than the stale bagged blood and that if Kurumu were a vampire, she would understand.

By the time the two had arrived at the infirmary, Tsukune had awoken again and was walking around under the supervision of Tsumugi-sensei. Kurumu greeted him with a happy cheer and a tackle-hug, pressing his face into her bosom again. Moka gave a more hesitant greeting, watching as Tsukune pried himself out of Kurumu's grip (or rather, was allowed to free himself).

"Kurono-san, please don't injure my patient," added the mummy, watching the goings-on.

Kurumu chuckled. "Is he OK to leave now?" she asked the nurse. When the nurse nodded and walked away, Kurumu clapped her hands in cheer while Moka and Tsukune both sighed in relief.

Moka piped up as Tsukune gathered his belongings. "Hey, Aono-kun, do you know where the boy's dorm is? You were given a map, right?"

Tsukune paused. If he was given a map, he didn't remember looking at it. Instead of giving a proper answer, he chuckled nervously while not looking at either of the girls. Moka then seized the opportunity to start making amends and offered to show him around. Naturally, Kurumu wanted to join in as well, and so the trio took a casual stroll around campus before dropping Tsukune off at the boy's dorms to some quite curious stares.

Tsukune noticed he had gathered a lot of attention along the way, but couldn't be sure if that was from his bandaged arm or from the fact that he was in the company of two quite attractive girls. In any case, he would need to do a better job of blending in. Joining a club once that came up would certainly help, and so would becoming better friends with Kurumu and Moka. He was honestly looking forward to it, and not just because he thought they were both super cute.

But there was also a lot that he didn't know about the world he had suddenly found himself in. And he had no idea where to start – what kinds of youkai are there; what kinds of powers do they have; which ones don't mind humans and which ones hate them; and so on. With that in mind, Tsukune left his dorm room and headed for the library, a building they had passed by earlier.

* * *

The library had a similar aesthetic to most of the buildings on campus, even if it had a different design. Whereas most of the buildings on campus tended towards a more modern (in the sense of the 1800s and towards the present), its design hearkened more towards the ancient. It might be called a merging of architectural designs between a Japanese Buddhist temple and an old Western-style library. The imposing gigantic wooden roof and coal-black stone walls increased its impression of on imposing repository of forbidden knowledge, especially to those humans.

Tsukune, knowing this, entered anyway.

Thankfully, the interior, while still quite creepy to him, was close enough to a normal library. There were rows upon rows of bookshelves, all piled upon with various texts of both older and newer designs. There was no electric lighting that he could see – instead, the hallways outside of and between shelves were lit by torches, candles, and gas lamps. There was also, as far as he could tell, no signs or symbols indicating which books were located where.

He sighed, and pulled out his cell phone. No signal here, either. He sighed again, more deeply.

"Is something the matter, boy~?" a faint voice asked.

Tsukune replied with his eyes still closed. "Yeah, I'm trying to find some books but there's no signs or anything saying where… to…" He trailed off after realizing he hadn't actually heard anyone come up to him. He opened his eyes turned to see…

"AHHH!"

A ghost! This particular ghost had a humanoid form that was transparent like stained glass with an eerie purple aura surrounding it. It wore the familiar white robe and was surrounded by several floating pale purple fireballs. Unlike the typical depiction of a ghost, it had long white hair and purple eyes.

Said ghost turned its face away from the terrified Tsukune, who had fallen over in shock and crawled away to go hide behind a nearby bookshelf. "Hmph! See if I help you~!" the ghost stated indignantly in a faint yet distinctly masculine-sounding voice, as it began to turn away.

"Please wait!" replied Tsukune immediately, coming out from behind the shelves. The ghost paused for a moment, as if expecting more. "I- I'm sorry about that. I'm just not used to… well, the details aren't important. I'm sorry and that's what matters."

The ghost nodded. "Indeed~. Apology accepted~." The ghost had no legs and moved by levitation. As such, it floated closer to Tsukune, who also moved towards it. "So then, what brings you here~? The school semester hasn't started yet, you know~. Most of the students here aren't studious when they're not being forced to be~. Do you perhaps also love to learn~?"

"Ummm…" Tsukune decided against telling the ghost that he was an academic failure, and instead changed the subject, hoping this was the librarian. "I'm here for some specific books. This might sound stupid, but are there any books describing all the different types of youkai? And maybe also some books about human and youkai relationships and their history?"

"Hmmm~? That's not a stupid request at all~. It's good to want to know more about your fellow classmates~. An encyclopedia for youkai, hmmm, yes, I can think of several that we have~. Follow me~." The ghost turned away from Tsukune again and started floating down a seemingly random hallway between the tall shelves. Tsukune followed him, not needing a torch due to the ghostly fire balls giving off enough light for him to see his immediate surroundings.

"Thank you very much," said Tsukune as they were going along.

"No problem~. It is natural that I would help you, after all, being the librarian~. I am curious, however~. If you will indulge me, I wish to ask why a youkai is so curious about humans~? After all, most youkai either hate or are indifferent to humanity~. Few love humans, hahaha~."

Tsukune frowned. He thought that was the case, but was hoping otherwise. He also wasn't sure how to answer the question without giving away that he was human. He didn't know if this youkai was safe or not. "Well, I was raised in the human world, so there's a lot I don't know…"

"So, you had to come here, then~? Hmmm~." The ghost paused in place and turned to face Tsukune. Tsukune stopped as well. The ghost lights intensified, allowing them to see each other and the books on the shelves more clearly. "What is your name, boy~?" asked the ghost.

"Aono Tsukune. And yours, sensei?"

"Gakutorou~."

Tsukune blinked. _Well, that's a very… appropriate name._

"So, Aono-san~. Is there perhaps something you don't wish to tell me~? Hahaha, don't look so surprised~. I am an expert in learning, after all, hahaha~. Unfortunately, sometimes it happens to me the hard way, which is how I became like this~," the ghost continued, gesturing to himself.

"Ah… may I ask what happened that caused you to… well…" Tsukune wasn't sure where to look, having been found out so easily. He settled to looking at some books on the shelves with no textual information printed on their spines, but seeming to belong in a set.

"Not at all~. This happened several hundred years ago, so I'm over it now~. I was once a human, seeking knowledge about youkai, and that led me here~. But rather than announce my presence as a friend, I snuck into this place and hid among the shelves during the day and stole food from the storage at night~. There are many secret powers here that one can learn and use for various purposes, even as a human~. And so I was able to spy on the living youkai and learn much about them~. But in my arrogance, I believed that they could not so much as find me, let alone harm me~. And so I let my guard down, and well… here I am, after a regretful end~. I did not pass on and was allowed to stay if I worked for them, and so I remain~."

Tsukune stared at the ghost in shock, eyes wide and jaw hanging open. Another human!? A dead man, who became a ghost!? A human who was now living amongst youkai, in life and in death!?

But… he had to wonder… "How many… know that about you, now?"

"Only a few~. However, it seems that you might have a better chance than I did here~."

Tsukune blinked, and moved to deny. "Ah, not sure what you're getting at, sensei, hahaha…"

The ghost cut him off with a laugh. "Of course, I would never ask if such a thing were true, Aono-san~. It's not appropriate, hahaha~. But if it were true, I wish you the best of luck~."

Gakutorou gestured to the same shelf Tsukune was looking at a few moments ago. "Several of the books you asked for are here~. But it's a bit much to carry a once, so take only a few, perhaps~? The rest will still be here waiting for you, so come by whenever you please~."

Tsukune thanked the ghost librarian, and began flipping though some of the books. He took in hand several of the books that contained general notes about youkai, taking particular care to pick up one with notes on vampires and another with notes on a youkai known as the succubus, one with features reminding him of a certain girl. With that, Gakutorou led Tsukune back to the main hallway and wished the boy a good day as he left for his dorm room for some reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – "I'd love to learn more about you!"

Luckily enough for Aono Tsukune, the first few days of school passed without incident. He received a few major shocks on the first day of classes, but nothing negative seemed to have come out of them. For now at least. But the fact remained that he was an ordinary human at a school for youkai – alone and in need of allies. Those he could trust.

He was hoping that Akashiya Moka and Kurono Kurumu were two such people.

Tsukune was thinking about ways to break the news to them instead of focusing on his homework (which wasn't any easier than what might be given to human students, he noted with resigned annoyance). Thoroughly distracted from work, he stood up from his desk and paced over to the window, stretching along the way. As he looked around at the night scenery, he reflected over that first day… maybe it would give him a clue?

* * *

The classroom itself was like any other he'd been in, and the students didn't act too differently from humans. Well, he supposed that as youkai pretending to be humans, they should act at least a little bit like regular people. A few seats were empty.

The homeroom teacher walked in. She had two tufts shaped like cat ears coming out of her hair, and introduced herself as Nekonome Shizuka while occasionally meowing like a cat as she spoke. Tsukune could've told you that she wasn't doing a good job of passing for a normal human even without knowing that this was a school for youkai. Come to think of it, the nurse and librarian were like that too…

Tsukune dropped that train of thought as the teacher went on.

"Now don't forget everyone! The point of this school is for you to learn how to co-exist in the human world and pass as a human. It's for our survival, nya~! So stay in human form at all times and don't show off your true form or your powers, okay, nya~?"

Tsukune felt relieved, and tried not to let it show on his face. If everyone was pretending to be human, then he wouldn't be at such a disadvantage. Maybe this would just be a normal high school life for him, after all?

Another student spoke up from a desk diagonally in front of Tsukune – a big muscular guy with greased-up brown hair, leaning back casually in his chair. "Hey teacher! If humans are such a problem, why don't we just kill and eat the guys and then take the women for ourselves?" He licked his lips during that last part, which Tsukune could hear, sending a chill down his spine.

_Well, I know who to avoid now…_ thought Tsukune.

The teacher went on, responding to that student and then getting back on track. "They're not a problem as long as long as they stay in their own world and don't mess with us, nya~! By the way, any humans with bad intentions who sneak onto these grounds will be killed once they're found! Or something like that, nya~!"

_And that explains what happened to the librarian… poor guy. I don't want to end up like him!_

Just then, another student walked into the classroom.

"Sorry I'm so late! I got lost after the entrance ceremony… eh!? Aono-kun, we're in the same class? Yay~! This is wonderful!"

Sure enough, he and Moka were in the same class. He had looked around earlier, and it looked like Kurumu was sorted elsewhere. The homeroom teacher told Moka to have any seat as she pleased, and all the rest of the students started fawning over Moka as she walked towards one of the open seats in the back. All except one who was looking at Moka with intense interest.

Tsukune was certainly happy to have Moka around (he'd forgiven her for the bike incident) and was glad to know she felt the same. He allowed himself to feel a small measure of relief as the teacher went on about something else. Though that one guy was still creeping him out…

With that settled, the teacher proceeded with the actual class.

Nothing much of note happened until lunch time, when Moka immediately took the opportunity to latch onto his right side, and walk him down to the cafeteria. Along the way, Moka was attracting more and more attention from the male students (and some of the female ones too, Tsukune noted), who were loudly gossiping about how cute she was and how much they wanted to take Tsukune's place and what they might do to make that happen.

Things got infinitely worse (for Tsukune) once they ran into Kurumu.

As soon as she saw the two of them walking arm in arm, she ignored Moka's greeting and latched herself onto Tsukune's left arm, making a point of rubbing his arm between her breasts. She icily glared at Moka while doing so, who could only reply with a confused glance of her own. It took Tsukune coughing rather conspicuously for Kurumu to settle down and get into a friendlier demeanor, proceeding to apologize to Moka as they kept walking. Tsukune couldn't help but notice the clamoring from the other students get even louder with Kurumu's arrival and intensify further when she approached the two of them (or rather, him). Along with jealous glares and spikes in killing intent and menacing aura…

So naturally, they next encountered one student Tsukune would have been glad to avoid.

"Heheheh… looks like we have two pretty girls here," said the same greased-up guy who spoke up earlier in Tsukune and Moka's class. The guy turned his attention to Moka, completely ignoring Kurumu. "So, you must be Akashiya Moka. I'm your classmate Komiya Saizou. I don't want to keep you long, so I'll ask a simple question – one I'm sure others want answered too."

As he said this, he walked up towards the trio and easily hefted Tsukune out of the two girl's grips with one arm, dangling Tsukune by the collar of his jacket. Tsukune yelped in surprise at the sudden movement, and couldn't even make a move to defend himself. Moka was leaning more on Tsukune than she'd realized at first and would've fallen over if not for Kurumu.

"What's a beautiful girl like yourself doing with a chump like this? Wouldn't someone like say, me, be a far better match?" he asked rhetorically, not expecting or even wanting an answer. Saizou brought Tsukune close, looked him straight in the eyes, and then dumped him on the floor. Saizou licked his lips and moved closer to Moka, leering at her, while Kurumu helped Tsukune up. "Well? Why don't we go somewhere private for some fun…?"

Moka froze on the spot. "Uh… um… I… I'm eating lunch with Aono-kun and Kurono-san, sorry, bye!" she exclaimed, grabbing both of them by the hand and running away. The crowd, dispersed shortly afterwards, leaving Saizou alone to plot a little plan of his own…

* * *

Meanwhile in a more secluded area, the trio were catching their breath.

"That was a little scary, wasn't it?" asked Moka to the group.

"Are you OK, Tsukune-kun?" asked Kurumu specifically to him.

"Yeah, I was just surprised… seriously, who was that guy?" asked Tsukune to no one in particular. He then turned to the two of them and asked something that had been on his mind for a while, and what Saizou said make him think of it. "Although… I've been wondering the same thing, to be honest… why you two would want to be around a plain and mediocre guy like me."

The two raised their voices at the same time in objection, looked at each other, and giggled. This did nothing to re-assure Tsukune and only furthered his confusion. After the two commiserated for a bit, Kurumu spoke up first.

"I think we both have our own reasons for wanting to be around you, Tsukune-kun. The truth is I'm looking for my "Destined One", so I need to get to know as many guys as I can! And you're one of the friendliest, most forward, and easily accepting guys I've seen here. Is it any wonder I'd come back to you?"

Then followed Moka.

"And as for me, well… I think you should be proud of yourself Aono-kun! Your blood is simply amazing! I've never had any like it before – it's flavor and nutritional balance are perfect. And also… you're my first… the first person I've ever fed from. I'll always remember it fondly, even if the circumstances weren't so good."

The two were blushing lightly as they admitted those things. Tsukune had to admit he felt much better after that though, even though their sense of good compliments was skewed somewhat compared to what he was used to hearing from humans. He chuckled. "Oh, I see now… Sorry for doubting you two. Let's get lunch then! Kurumu-chan? Moka-san?"

They assented, and the group hurried to the cafeteria before all the food ran out.

Thankfully, after that, the rest of the day was also normal classwork and not terribly exciting.

* * *

But this left Tsukune with a predicament. The two of them were so willing to be open and honest with him, but he wasn't doing the same in return. He needed to tell them the truth. That besides just wanting to be friends, he'd also need their help to survive. That he, being an ordinary human, would be doomed if his secret ever got out. He needed their support just as must as he wanted to give them what little he could offer. The question now was simply how and when.

Tsukune went back to his desk and stared at the problems he was working on (math was his worst subject, as usual) as if that would help. Maybe… students weren't supposed to show off their powers or true form, but nothing was said against simply telling another person these things. After all, you could be lying, and it'd be their choice to believe you or not.

It'd also be a good excuse to hang out with Kurumu and Moka in private. Keeping the other students out of his business looked like it would be essential for his survival. Lay low and stay out of sight, and out of mind. If he could convince them to tone things down for his sake, that would also be a huge help. It'd probably help them blend in too, now that he thought about it.

So that settled it! Tomorrow at lunch, he'd ask them if they could talk more in private to get to know each other better. There were things he could only say with a promise of secrecy.

With that, he went back to his endless struggle with numbers.

* * *

"Eh? You need to talk with us in private, Aono-kun?" asked Moka.

Tsukune nodded. "That's right. I have something important to tell you two. It's…"

Kurumu gasped, as if she had realized something shocking and important. "Tsukune-kun, don't tell me… you're… you're… planning to confess to both of us at the same time!? Am I really not enough for you?" She pouted as she asked the second question.

Both Tsukune and Moka spat out their drinks – milk for Tsukune and blood for Moka. They could only count their blessings that no one happened to be directly in front of them when that happened. Moka was too embarrassed to respond, but Tsukune managed to stammer out a retort.

"This isn't for a love confession! It's something personal…" _Besides, you're more than enough to handle as is…_ "…something I don't want to talk about here."

Kurumu stared intensely into his eyes as if that would somehow cause him to just tell her his secret on the spot. He stared back with a blank expression on his face, while cleaning up.

She then smiled warmly at him. "Okay~! Where are we meeting, Tsukune-kun? I'd love to learn more about you!" She paused for a second to think, then continued. "Actually, I want you to learn more about me as well, so this is convenient! And Moka-san should join too, if she can."

Moka, who was now done cleaning up, said that she would in fact like to join in. He suggested they meet in front of the main school building after classes and head to the library to find a secluded area there. When the two girls agreed, the plan was set!

* * *

As promised, Tsukune and Moka headed together towards the main school entrance once the bell rang and they did their final stand up and bow. Unbeknownst to them, Saizou was following them not too far behind their steps, taking care not to look like an obvious stalker.

Kurumu was already there waiting for them when they arrived, and they walked together to the library, chatting idly about classwork.

Saizou spat upon the ground where they had just stood, and then followed. It was time to take what he wanted.

* * *

"Ooh, this place is creepy… But I'll be fine, since Tsukune-kun is here!" Kurumu said, nuzzling into Tsukune's arm. Tsukune decided not to challenge that notion, chuckling nervously instead. _We'll see if she still thinks that once I tell her that I'm a human… _he thought to himself.

The group had already entered the library, Kurumu latched onto Tsukune's side like usual while Moka was walking beside them on his other side. As expected, not many students intentionally came to this place, and those who had were poring over a book or elbow deep in homework. Far too busy to pay a group like theirs any attention, as Tsukune liked.

The librarian, Gakutorou, was wandering down the halls and idly noticed the trio sitting at a round table in one of the commons areas. He also noticed a young man with ill intent standing near them but just out of sight, concealed by the shelves.

Tsukune, Kurumu, and Moka noticed neither of them.

Tsukune cleared his throat as he moved to speak first, low enough that any youkai that happened to be nearby wouldn't hear. "So, thanks for agreeing to this. What I wanted to talk about is… I know we're not supposed to talk about what kind of youkai we are or our true forms since we're supposed to be pretending to be human, but I think I want… no, I need to tell you mine. And I was also wondering about yours too… though I guess we already know Moka-san's heheheh…"

He was chuckling nervously, but Kurumu joining in with him made him feel a tiny bit better. Meanwhile, Moka was pouting with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment, muttering something about how it wasn't her fault Tsukune's blood was so tasty. She then sighed, and continued: "Yes, I'm a vampire, but…" and with that she gestured to the rosary she was always wearing "…my true form and power are sealed by this rosary."

Having the full attention of both Tsukune and Kurumu fixed on her, she continued. "Sealing rosaries like this one are made using powerful holy magic, and are meant to repress the powers of youkai. The other me is a pretty violent person, so my father made me wear it since I was little. It makes it easier to be around others… though I do still have cravings for blood…"

With that, she looked furtively at Tsukune, blushing slightly. "So, Aono-kun, if I may…"

But before Moka could do anything further, Kurumu leaned forward over the table, slamming her hands down in the process. She was about to yell, but then remembered where they were and what they were doing, and dialed it back to a harsh whisper. "Hold it, Moka-san, we're not here for that! Stay focused!" She was glaring directly at Moka, as if daring her for a challenge.

Moka did not do so, shrinking back and apologizing to Tsukune. He waved it off.

"But it's hard to imagine someone like you being violent." Tsukune mentioned. "I guess everyone has another side to them. And speaking of that, Kurumu-chan, if you don't mind…?"

Kurumu sat back down, smiling at her two companions. "Of course! …and sorry about that Moka-san. I guess I am a little possessive over Tsukune-kun…"

_A little?_ thought the other two at the same time.

"…but I have a good reason for it. After all, I'm a succubus!"

She paused there as if that was a reason by itself. Tsukune waved his hand, urging her to go on.

Kurumu blinked. "Oh, you don't know about us?" She frowned for a moment in thought, then her eyes widened and a smile grew on her face. "Okay, then! I can't tell you everything because I don't know everything, but I can say this much: there's not that many of us. So, we normally find many youkai or humans to have children with, and our powers make that easier for us."

Tsukune nodded. He knew a bit about the powers of succubi and vampires from his readings, but it was good to get confirmation from a direct source.

Kurumu continued. "But I… I want to do things differently. I want to find my 'Destined One', my perfect match, and have a big family with him. I want to find that kind of romantic fate."

She then leaned over towards Tsukune. "So, Tsukune-kun, would you be…"

Moka coughed, interrupting Kurumu from going any further. She frowned, but backed off while apologizing. Tsukune waved that off as well. For now… was his moment. There was just one thing he wanted to ask beforehand, which would decide how he framed things.

"Speaking of humans, would you really not mind being with a human?" he asked Kurumu. "I thought most youkai hated humans… or at least, would prefer to avoid them."

Kurumu pondered that for a bit, lips pursed and a finger on her chin, so Moka took that moment to speak up. "Yes, Aono-kun… truth be told, I hate humans, too. I went to a human school up until now and I was so isolated there. It was so strange! None of them believed in youkai and so, I was shunned." She frowned deeply. "Humans are the reason youkai have to hide, but they don't know the first thing about us? And they don't even want to learn? It's despicable, isn't it?"

Tsukune couldn't speak or meet Moka's eyes. Moka, however, didn't notice, and kept going. "But, you know... I've felt less alone ever since I've met you two. Since you both accepted me as a vampire so easily, even though I keep drinking Aono-kun's blood… Aono-kun? Are you OK?"

"I…" Tsukune forced himself to respond, lest he lose nerve. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"I am too," added Kurumu, who put a hand on Moka's back for support. "I, however, had an easy time being with the humans. Most of my kind do, hahaha! So I have nothing to worry about there," and she added a wink onto that remark, making Tsukune wonder if she had already figured things out. "Human or youkai, my 'Destined One' is just that… the one for me."

"Thanks, you two," replied back a grateful Moka, "at least we won't have to deal with any of those awful humans here, right, Aono-kun, Kurono-san? …Aono-kun? What's the matter?"

"If… if I said I was one of the humans you hated, Moka-san… what would you do?"

Moka froze in place. Her response was a single syllable. "…huh?"

Oppressive silence descended upon them. Tsukune kept his head down, not daring to meet either of the girl's gazes. Moka's gaze was blank and unfocused as her eyes began to widen in dawning horror. Only Kurumu had any measure of calm – but it was a sad one, and she was frowning.

She had no idea if this kind of gap between the other two would heal, or how soon if so.

Tsukune kept going. "I'm a human. I failed all the entrance exams for every school that I applied to… this is the only place that would take me. I don't know why I was accepted, but here I am. I had to tell you sooner or later, so I'd rather it be sooner. But if you'll let me, I still want to be-"

He was cut off by the sound of a chair hitting the ground. Both he and Kurumu turned to Moka, who had fallen back out of the chair and was looking at Tsukune with stark fear in her eyes and a betrayed look on her face. "No… no no no… this has to be a mistake…"

Tsukune stood up and reached for her. "Moka-san, I-"

She promptly jerked away from him, and then stood up and ran away, now weeping quietly.

He did not follow. Instead, he slumped back into his chair in defeat. Kurumu got out of hers and walked towards him. "Well?" she asked. "What are we going to do now, Tsukune-kun?"

"I…" He sighed. "I don't know. But I can't just leave things like that, right? I really do want to be friends to both of you, but there's no way she'll want to be around me now… Oh man…" He looked up at Kurumu, who was standing just behind him and had her arms draped around him. "I'm more surprised that you don't seem to care, but I guess you're just being true to your word."

Kurumu giggled. "Yep! I can be pretty stubborn when I feel like it. I'm not leaving you alone~!"

"Ah~. Young love is certainly a precious flower, isn't it~?" calmly stated an echoing voice from behind them. They both turned towards the source of the voice, and had quite different reactions.

"Oh, hello there, sensei." / "AHHHH, A GHOST!"

Kurumu then hid underneath the table, much to Gakutorou's annoyance and Tsukune's embarrassment. After Tsukune reassured the succubus that the ghost was a librarian and was safe, she removed herself from her (not very good) hiding place and introduced herself. The ghost librarian did the same, and then revealed the reason why he had appeared.

"I thought you might like to know that a rough-looking young man followed the three of you into my library and then followed your friend out after she ran away~," he said.

The two paled, and looked at each other. Looks like they both had the same idea.

"Sorry, sensei, but we need to run!" exclaimed Tsukune as he practically leapt from his chair.

The ghost librarian chuckled. "I will forgive you this time, Aono-san, Kurono-san~."

The two thanked Gakutorou as they ran off, leaving him with his thoughts. _Looks like it is as I suspected. I wish you the best of luck, Aono-san. You'll need all the good fortune you can get!_

* * *

As they were exiting the library, the duo could hear Moka's screams. Once they were outside, they could see the scene quite clearly: a lurching, hulking, mass of muscle and evil intent was menacing the vampire girl, occasionally taking swings at her with its massive arms and trying to corner her… luckily for them, it looked like it was slowly driving her back towards them.

"Is that Komiya-san's true form!?" exclaimed Tsukune in shock. It's one thing to know everyone around you is in disguise, and it's another to see a grotesque being with your own eyes.

"I don't know, but we need to get Moka-san out of there!" replied Kurumu. It looked like he had fully transformed… too dangerous to fight, especially with fragile Tsukune around.

The two yelled at the same time, "Moka-san!"

That caught her attention, but it also gave another opening for the hostile youkai to take a swipe at her and finally connect, sending her flying in their direction. _Why does this feel so familiar?_ was Tsukune's last thought just before she crashed into them. But they had no time to rest on the ground, as the hostile youkai was already bearing down on them.

It spoke, and they knew at once it was Komiya Saizou. "Heh, looks like the chump is back! I'll just get rid of you and the other girl! Then Akashiya Moka will be all mine, hahahahaha!" Saizou lunged forward, and the trio, now standing, split up to dodge – Moka and Tsukune on one side, and Kurumu on the other. However, Tsukune and Moka were still within his reach, and he took a swing at them, Tsukune taking most of the damage by trying to shield Moka. The two of them crashed into some rubble, Tsukune a bloody and broken mess, Moka only lightly bruised.

Kurumu and Moka had a similar reaction of intense concern for their friend, while Saizou smirked in smug satisfaction and started laughing. Kurumu hissed at the man, transforming and becoming more menacing – growing wings, long nails, and pointed tail. She drew in his attention. Meanwhile, Moka was attempting to rouse a barely conscious Tsukune.

"Aono-kun! Wake up! Wake up!"

"Ugh… Moka-san? Are you alright?" He tried to stand, but failed, leaning onto her.

"Am I…? Yes, I'm fine! Worry more about yourself, Aono-kun! Why did you…"

"Because!" he interrupted, and then lowered his voice, "I was serious when I said I wanted to be your friend. Ugh… Even if I get hurt… even if you're a vampire and I'm a human, it'll be… alright!" And with that last word, he pried the rosary off of a crying Moka's neck and fell back down to the ground. The last words a shocked Moka said before a bright light emanated from her were: "The rosary… he can…?"

* * *

Kurumu and Saizou were otherwise occupied fighting each other while that was going on – Saizou trying and failing to smack the flying succubus down to the ground, Kurumu raking her nails across his body with each miss. A crowd had gathered around to watch the one-sided fight.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the blinding bright light from Moka's rosary. The fight was forced to a stop as the holy relic outshone the sun, and no one dared uncover their eyes until the light fully faded away. When it did, they all turned to face a transformed Akashiya Moka. Gone was the familiar pink hair and green eyes – replaced they were with silver-white hair and blood-red eyes. Gone was her timid and friendly demeanor – she was baring her fangs prominently, was noticeably more muscular, and was giving off an aura of menace.

Even Saizou was in shock. A super-vampire!? What an intense presence!

Finally, he spoke up, watching as the new Moka gingerly picked up Tsukune and walked over towards him and the succubus. "Hahahaha! What a treat! What an incomparable beauty! Akashiya Moka, you're sexier than ever! My body is aching so much… I want you even more!" He tensed up and got into a fighting stance, his long tongue lolling from his mouth. He was expecting her to attack at the first opportunity, or at least respond to his proclamation.

Instead, she ignored him and brought Tsukune over to the succubus, dropping him into her outstretched arms. Kurumu retracted her nails and brought Tsukune in close, burying his face in her chest just once before turning him around so they could both see.

Saizou spat at the ground and yelled at Moka again. "Akashiya Moka! Don't you ignore me!"

Moka smirked, and then chuckled at the rogue youkai. She approached him, pointing at herself. "Oh? Aren't you impatient, oh rogue one? I'm not going anywhere. If you want me…" she stopped in front of him, and beckoned him closer, "…just try and take me… if you can…"

Incensed, Saizou lunged forward, striking directly at Moka with his right fist. Tsukune and Kurumu were frozen in shock, wondering what their friend was thinking. Their concerns proved to be unfounded, as Moka blocked Saizou's punch with a single outstretched finger. With that same finger she pushed him back and felled him over. Moka walked towards the fallen youkai.

"…Is that all you have…? I'm disappointed, Komiya Saizou… It's time you learned your place."

Further incensed, Saizou flipped himself over and lunged at Moka again, this time going for a full-body tackle. Moka didn't bother with dodging or blocking, instead striking first with a harsh right-footed kick to Saizou's head. The dazed youkai was knocked far away, crashing clean through several trees, and landing on his back on a pile of rough stones.

"I guess all that size was just for show… now then…" Moka turned her attention to the crowd, glaring at the lot of them. "Do you have some business with me? If not… leave."

They obeyed her command without hesitation, and she then turned her attention back to Tsukune and Kurumu, walking back over to them. Kurumu was still supporting Tsukune up, and he was still holding her rosary. She couldn't help but notice that Tsukune was trembling, while Kurumu was staring resolutely at her. She chuckled as she took the rosary out of Tsukune's hands.

"You may relax… Tsukune-kun and Kurumu-chan… I have no ill intentions towards you…" She cradled Tsukune's chin in one hand while holding the rosary in the other, smirk intensifying upon seeing Kurumu's reaction. "…after all, your blood is quite delicious. Make no mistake, I won't be letting you out of my sight. And as for you…" She then did the same to Kurumu, taking great pleasure from the blush on the succubus's face. "…don't think you've escaped my notice. Your blood is mine now, too… got it? You both understand?"

The two of them had the distinct impression that this was an offer they couldn't refuse. It wasn't one they wanted to refuse anyway, so they nodded along.

The vampire's grin intensified. "Good… and as for the other Moka, I expect you to take care of her. So for now… farewell…" She closed her eyes, and the light from the rosary engulfed her again. When it dimmed, a sleeping pink-haired Moka had returned, and she slumped over onto Kurumu and Tsukune. The two shared a look between them, and carried her to the infirmary.


	3. Interlude

Interlude – "Do you understand now, Tsukune-kun?"

Several days had passed since the incident with Komiya Saizou.

Moka was fine and recovered peacefully in the infirmary under the care of the nurse Tsumugi. The vampire was just a little anemic after exerting herself, but after drinking a bit of Kurumu's blood, she felt better and could leave. She wanted a bit of distance from the two of them – not forever, just for now, so she could go over her feelings. She was back in class, but Tsukune had yet to speak to her outside of cursory greetings, and they hadn't eaten lunch together in a while.

Saizou was also dropped off in the infirmary by someone, but took much longer to recover and disappeared from class afterwards. Tsukune couldn't say he would miss the guy, though he was a bit curious about where he ran off to. It'd be bad if he came back for revenge against them.

He and Kurumu were still hanging out.

But right now, he was alone, walking in the woods. There was a cool fog blanketing the trees, and he wanted to take a break from homework anyway. Stretching and yawning, he kept an attentive ear out, but it seemed he was truly alone.

At least, until he heard a snapping branch and someone's short shout.

He ran over to where the thought the shout was coming from, but there was no one to be seen. _It sounded familiar… oh well, guess it was…_

"Tsukune-kun~!"

Tsukune's thoughts were interrupted by softness and then weight collapsing onto his back, knocking him to the ground. He didn't have to look up to know it was Kurumu – her voice was familiar to him now. And unlike the previous few times she did this, he had enough sense not to turn around and get a full face of her chest.

"Oh no~, Tsukune-kun, are you alright~?" Kurumu asked with feigned concern. She rolled off his back, but held onto him so that now he was on top of her, his head resting on her chest. "You should be careful walking around in the woods… you never know what kind of dangerous youkai are running around, hahaha~!" She was looking down at him as she said this, and winked.

He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "And who would that be exactly, Kurumu-chan?"

"Me, silly!" The two laughed, Kurumu's much more sincere sounding than Tsukune's. Their laughter died down, Kurumu still cheerful and Tsukune still pensive. She noticed and asked: "Ummm… Tsukune-kun? Are you… thinking about what happened with Moka-san still?"

Tsukune nodded, looking forward at the trees. He answered: "Yeah… I guess I should be just glad that all hope isn't lost. It'd be bad to lose her friendship forever. It'd be almost as bad as losing yours!" He chuckled, feeling secure that such a thing would never happen, and was surprised when Kurumu didn't join in. He looked up to face her, and saw her face was bright red. Instead of her normal boisterousness, she was stuttering something softly.

"Kurumu-chan?" he asked in concern. "Are you-"

"Ummm…" She interrupted him. More unusually, she pushed him away, forcing him to sit up properly. She was doing the same now, and went on: "Um… Tsukune-kun, that's… I… what… what do you really think of me?" Her blush deepened and she was pointedly avoiding his eyes.

He stared at her for a moment, not really getting why she had asked this. Hadn't he already said he valued her friendship? But then he recalled her self-imposed mission of destined true love. His face turned bright red as well, as he realized she was asking if he liked her. And in truth?

He did.

But probably not in the way she was hoping…

He chuckled nervously, but answered honestly. "I like being around you, Kurumu-chan… but if you're looking for love at first sight or whatever, I don't really believe in that kind of thing…"

Kurumu glanced at him. "Oh." She then visibly relaxed, her intense blush fading. "Okay, that's fine!" She then giggled cheerfully. "A 'Destined One' doesn't mean the same as 'love at first sight', though. Don't think you've gotten rid of me, just yet~!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

He relaxed too. "I'm not trying to get rid of you though…"

"Great! I'm glad that the cute Moka-san hasn't infected your brain like what happened with pretty much all the other guys. Otherwise, I might've had to charm you!" She then laughed.

He joined in at first. "Yeah, that would be…" He then paused. "Wait, what?"

Kurumu stared curiously at Tsukune. "Eh? Didn't you hear me, Tsukune-kun? I said it doesn't matter if it's 'love at first sight' or not…"

"No, I heard that part clearly… I meant the stuff after."

"Oh. Ummm…" Kurumu, flustered, looked away from Tsukune. "I said that part out loud? Oops… Can you please forget I said that? Ehehehe…"

"No." Tsukune said firmly. "And now I want details. What's going on with you and Moka-san? And did you really just say that you would have forced me to make me fall in love with you?"

"…No…."

Tsukune glared at her. She squirmed in discomfort.

"…Maybe… Look, I can explain!"

"Then start."

"…alright…" She then sighed, and leaned back against one of the nearby trees. Kurumu beckoned Tsukune towards her, but he remained firmly seated in place with arms crossed. Frowning, she continued: "So, you remember Moka-san's other form, right?"

Tsukune didn't think he'd ever forget that awe-inspiring persona, and said as much to Kurumu.

"And _that's_ the problem!" she exclaimed, sulking and glaring up at the sky. "I need to find my 'Destined One'! I can't let all the guy's attention be suddenly drawn away by anyone, not even Moka-san's… _alluring_… alter ego. So… I _might_ have started using my powers to ummm… _persuade_ some of the guys I was chasing to think of me instead of her other self."

"Kurumu-chan…"

"What!?" she yelled at him, now facing him and returning his accusing glare. Tsukune almost fell backwards in shock, but she ignored that and kept on her rant. "What would you have me do? I can't accept this! I need to find my 'Destined One', no matter what it takes or what I have to do. It's my destiny! It's what I want! You don't understand how I feel at all, Tsukune-kun!"

The only sounds present now were nature's ambiance and Kurumu's heavy breathing. She had been leaning towards Tsukune, and returned to reclining against the tree with a loud thump.

Tsukune wasn't sure what to say in response. She was right, of course; he didn't understand how she felt. He wasn't much of a believer in fate, destiny, or 'true love'. He was certainly willing to support her in her efforts, whoever her choice ended up being. But forced love? Mind control? He couldn't accept those methods, especially not when they could be turned on him.

He stood up, walked towards her, and sat down in front of her. She pointedly looked away.

"…Kurumu-chan."

"Yes?"

"…I'm sorry. You're right."

She raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing and didn't look at him.

He continued: "I don't get it. I don't really understand why you did what you did. But I have to ask… would you really be satisfied if controlling men was the only way for you to win?"

"…No…" She sighed, and finally turned to him, still with a frown. "But what else is there?"

"Well…" he thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. I can't answer that for you."

The two were quiet for a moment, both looking down at the ground between them.

Tsukune spoke up first, asking her a question. "Why do you want to find your 'Destined One'?"

The breeze picked up, blowing through the branches, clearing the fog.

She answered without looking at him, a light blush on her face. "I want to believe in that kind of destiny. A future where my perfect match and I can live out the rest of our lives together… you know, I don't know who my father is. It could be one of… twenty guys, I think? I don't quite remember and I've never met any of them anyway. I thought that was normal, and I guess it is for us. I was raised by my mom and by the other succubi and incubi in the human town where we lived in secret. And they told me about that story, and that for some of them it had come true. I think my mom either gave up on finding hers or never believed... but… I want to show her that such a fate really is possible. So, I want to find my true love for both of our sakes. And I've been searching around ever since, hopping between human schools and scouting out hidden youkai."

Kurumu glanced at Tsukune. "Do you understand now, Tsukune-kun?"

He was staring at her in rapt attention, and had been nodding along as she was talking. And now he answered. "I think I do… but then, I have to wonder if it's really true love if you need to…" He paused, and looked away from her. "…well, you know. And if they would abandon you so easily for Moka-san, could they really be destined for you? It's hard to believe they would be…"

Kurumu blinked. She pursed her lips in thought, and brought a finger to them too. _Hmmm… he has a point there…_ she thought_. My 'Destined One' and I should be drawn to each other. So, if he really was one of those guys fawning over Moka-san, then he should come back to me? Maybe? I don't know how this works. But… _She sighed._ I need to do this without my powers. Like I was planning from the start until I got into a panic… good thing they won't remember what I did. _Having come to a decision, she looked straight-on at Tsukune with a pleased smile.

"Kurumu-chan?"

"Hehehe… thanks, Tsukune-kun! You're a big help!"

"Eh…?" He bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Am I…? I didn't even notice anything…"

"That's because I was hiding it… sorry about that."

He shook his head. "No, I should be apologizing to you."

The two insisted at each other that they were the ones in the wrong and that the other person wasn't at fault at all. Getting nowhere, they agreed to just forgive the other and that was that. Kurumu closed her eyes, breathed in, and released the hold she was holding over certain minds with her next exhale. She felt a burden lift from her own shoulders just the same.

The mood now peaceful once more, Tsukune stood up, stretched, and was about to walk away… except that a now also standing Kurumu was holding onto his hand, preventing him from doing so. Even though she was much stronger than him, her pressure was as gentle as it was firm.

He turned to face her. "Something on your mind?"

"I've been… searching for a long time. These aren't the first guys I've used my powers on. Knowing that… do you still… want to be friends?" she asked with palpable hesitation.

There was only one answer for Tsukune, who smiled at her. "Of course! I just can't see you as a bad girl at heart." He chuckled, and was about to keep talking, but was interrupted by a tackle-hug from an ecstatic and grateful Kurumu. She was thanking him ("so much~!") as they crashed down. The two were now back on the ground, Kurumu's head resting on Tsukune's chest.

They lay there for a few moments in a comfortable, relaxed silence.

Kurumu spoke up first. "Tsukune-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Do you believe in true love?"

"…can't say I've really thought about it."

Kurumu chuckled. That was a familiar refrain, from both humans and youkai. _But… this feels different,_ she thought to herself, looking at him with warmth in her sparkling eyes, much to his confusion. _Tsukune-kun is… different._ So far, she had been chasing hunches that went nowhere or had to repel the advances of the overly lustful. But there was a spark she felt when the two of them first met – a small one, maybe, but that was already better than most youkai, let alone the humans she had previously encountered. And she noticed over time, as they were around each other, it had started to grow within her, fed by the fuel of their close contact. And the best part?

As a being in touch with emotions, she could feel within Tsukune a reflection of the same flame.

It required a bit of fanning on her part at first, but… unconsciously, at some point, he had joined in too. Things relaxed and became more natural. She had long suspected he was human (he smelled wrong, for one), and was not very surprised to learn that she didn't care all that much that he was when he admitted to the truth. Maybe… is it too early? She had no idea how this part worked.

_It's supposed to be intuitive… it's a feeling… go with your burning desires…_

She then realized she must have been making faces at Tsukune, because he was giving her an odd look. She chuckled, and said only that he should think about it more before she…

_Is she… trying to kiss me!?_ Tsukune asked himself. He panicked, not sure how to react. He wasn't ready for this. It was far too soon! Wait… did that mean… _there's really a part of me that wants to kiss Kurumu-chan, isn't there? I can feel a little flame inside me, burning, growing… _He wondered how long it had been there, as he drew in closer too, closing his eyes.

A succubus's kiss was dangerous to anyone who suffered it, for it could be used to control minds. But not in all cases. It was possible to break through with a strong enough will. And it would not affect at all those bound to the succubus by 'true love' and 'destiny'.

Kurumu drew still, opened her eyes, and saw that Tsukune was willing to take that risk. She chuckled, a heavy blush on her face, and put a finger to Tsukune's lips. The confused boy opened his eyes as Kurumu spoke: "Now now, Tsukune-kun… you have to be careful around us youkai, remember? You never know what kind of danger we could put you in, hahaha~!"

She turned away from him, still blushing. "But… I guess it's not so bad, that you're so open. It's what I like about you after all…" She then got up, and offered him a hand up, which he accepted. The two stood close together, eyes locked, hand in hand, until Tsukune started to feel his hand go numb from Kurumu's intensifying sweaty grip and pointed that out to the succubus.

She practically flung his hand away in embarrassment, and turned away from him. With a flimsy excuse of having homework to do, she excused herself before she could do anything to ruin the moment. But she left secure in knowledge that maybe, just maybe, she was done searching.

And as for Tsukune?

He still wasn't a believer in destiny, but… it'd be nice if it worked out between the two of them, he thought. He needed her support, and hoped he could also help her. Was this the way to do so? How did he really feel about her, both as herself and as a youkai? So many new questions…

Now with a lot more to think about, he slowly made his way back to his dorm.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – "I don't like flirty guys like you!"

"…and that's why you'll be required to join a club from here on out! Any questions, nya~?"

Tsukune had many questions. One being why the teachers thought this would help other youkai blend in better with humans when many of them (especially Nekonome-sensei) hardly passed as human. Another being what kinds of club activities this school would have in the first place. A third being whether or not this would help him pass as a youkai, or if he should just avoid them.

His train of thought was disrupted by the teacher scratching up a student's face for mocking her bad transformation skills (her cat tail was out again). He sighed. _Well, here goes nothing…_

Luckily for him, two events later occurred that gave him hope that this wouldn't end with him instantly being found out as human. One: Kurumu almost instantly found him at the club fair and latched onto his side. Two: Moka reached out to the duo there to offer up her friendship once more, if they would take her. They accepted her back into the fold without hesitation, and the group began looking for a club that would be a good fit for the three of them.

* * *

(Photography Club)

…all they wanted to do was take… _interesting_… pictures of Moka and Kurumu. They left this one behind, but Kurumu noted some of their ideas for her own personal use. Just in case…

* * *

(Chemistry Club)

Science wasn't a strong suit of either Tsukune or Kurumu, but Moka was interested so they gave it a try. Unfortunately, they were a bit too into the idea of "the school's best girl" Akashiya Moka joining their club and changed today's activity so that they were now making love potions.

Moka practically dragged Tsukune and Kurumu out of the room, profusely apologizing to them.

Incidentally, there used to be a general science club, but it was shut down for brewing alcohol.

* * *

(Swim Team)

The idea was immediately vetoed by Moka, as she explained that vampires couldn't swim properly. They didn't even bother trying it out and would never know the mess they evaded.

* * *

(Card Games Club)

They were riding on motorcycles. While playing card games.

…_why_!?

The bewildered trio passed on this one, with Kurumu wondering how they'd look clad in leather.

* * *

(Magic Club)

Even though witches existed, it seemed there were at least a few youkai interested in the stage trickery that humans passed off as magic. It was a fun past-time for them, and a potential profession for those who could make it work.

…unfortunately for the current president of the club, she had essentially zero talent and it showed most prominently. When the trio walked into the clubroom, pigeons were flying everywhere, cards and other props were littered on the floor, and the silver-haired girl was sitting on the floor crying while handcuffed and being consoled by some of the other members. One of them then came to the trio and said that this happened all the time, just so that they knew.

The trio discussed their newfound knowledge, wished the club president luck, and departed.

* * *

(Witchcraft Club)

Despite the name, they were open to non-witch members. Most youkai could learn a limited amount of innate magic related to their special abilities, and some managed to become skilled specialists and even generalists. Tsukune thought this would be perfect for self-defense, as hostile youkai would just assume that he was a male witch.

…unfortunately, an accident with one of the members led to Tsukune being knocked out by a falling washtub, leaving Kurumu and Moka to carry him to the infirmary once more.

They never returned to that club, but were eventually given an apology by that member.

* * *

(Cooking Club)

This was Kurumu's idea, looking to attract Tsukune even more by feeding him her special desserts. She definitely had no thoughts whatsoever about doing the same for Moka, nope.

In any case, Moka and Tsukune went along with the request despite not having much of an interest. But as it turned out, this was a competitive cooking club, and while Kurumu was able to keep up and turn out an excellent cake, Moka and Tsukune were left in the dust while being constantly berated for their failures as chefs.

Kurumu practically dragged Tsukune and Moka out of the room, profusely apologizing to them.

* * *

(Cross Country Team)

This one was suggested by Tsukune, who was always looking for ways to take his safety into his own hands, rather than leaving it all to Kurumu and Moka. He would have no hope in a fight from what he'd seen so far, but maybe he could become fast enough to run away and get help.

Everyone on the team was friendly enough, and so the trio hung around long enough to join them at one of their practice runs. The path took them through some of the creepy fog-infested woods Tsukune and Kurumu had chatted in not too long ago. Tsukune, being a vaguely fit person already, managed to survive the run, even with the scare at the end of most of the club members transforming to cheat their way through the final stretch and chasing him down. He gained a little bit of self-confidence from that moment… one that neither Moka or Kurumu saw as they gave up about half-way through, having resolved not to use their own powers to cheat.

The team captain almost managed to convince the trio to join anyway, but Kurumu and Moka held final sway. They parted ways with the club, wishing each other the best of luck.

* * *

(Karate Club)

They were flat-out rejected, especially Kurumu. No reason was given why.

* * *

(Pro Wrestling Club)

Only Moka was into it, mostly due to the other Moka. They moved on.

It was the same story for many of the other similar clubs, except for…

* * *

(Mixed Martial Arts Club)

Tsukune was hoping to learn some general fighting basics in case he had no choice but to fight.

Instead, this was one of the few clubs were students were not only allowed, but expected, to use their youkai powers to win fights. Anything goes was the rule. The other Moka might have liked the club, but even she didn't want to risk Tsukune's life so casually.

* * *

(Light Music Club)

None of them knew how to play an instrument, and so Kurumu's attempt to woo Tsukune with the power of music was ended before it could even begin.

* * *

(Taiko Club)

Moka and Tsukune took to the drumming style and exercise regimen easily, but Kurumu wasn't terribly interested in learning how to play. Or in running a marathon every week as exercise.

* * *

(Debate Club)

Too much petty squabbling.

* * *

(Literature Club)

The trio wasn't sure what they were expecting, but it certainly wasn't poetry writing. None of them had any particular talent for or desire to write poems, so they passed this one by.

* * *

(Library Club)

Unlike the so-called literature club, this club hung out in the library and focused on reading and discussing books. It would also mark the first time Moka would meet Gakutorou, and she reacted about the same way everyone else did when they met him – screaming and hiding behind something. At this point, the friendly ghost was used to it and hardly reacted at all, instead greeting Tsukune and Kurumu and congratulating them for repairing their friendship with Moka.

Moka returned with a profuse apology, and the trio befriended the small club and joined them in a reading session. One with dark hair covering half her face was reading a travelogue to her blonde friend. One sucking on a lollipop was reading a romance novel while sitting under a table. The three of them ended up reading different books and relaxing individually…

…which was fine, but they wanted to do activities together in a more active club and departed with the bibliophiles on good terms.

* * *

(Gardening Club)

This should have been an easy choice. As it turned out, Moka had a bit of a green thumb. Kurumu wanted to grow flowers as gifts for Tsukune, and Tsukune was interested in learning about youkai plants. He definitely did not also want to grow flowers for Kurumu as gifts. Not at all. So all of them had motivation to join the club, and had good rapport with the members.

There was just one little problem…

Many of the plants were meat-eating, and particularly hungered for human flesh. As such, they kept trying to eat Tsukune. The trio bid the club farewell before either they pieced together the truth or Kurumu started tearing apart all the hostile plants and alienating the club members.

* * *

(Manga Club)

Turns out this was a club for making manga, not reading it… None of them were into that.

* * *

(Anime Club)

The club had already fractured over whether Moka or Kurumu were 'best girl' before they even knew the club existed. Things got even worse when the trio turned up for a group meeting. If only someone had warned them… The trio ran off just before the 'waifu war' turned physical.

* * *

(Youkai-Human Friendship Club)

This club was never that popular, and the current head of the Public Safety Commission essentially killed it when he found out about it. The former club president could only offer the trio a sincere apology. He didn't want to stick out his neck again. Not after what happened to the rest of his members… They decided not to risk it and thanked him for the warning.

* * *

And so on, and so on…

* * *

Many days passed without them joining a club, eventually drawing the notice of Tsukune and Moka's homeroom teacher, Nekonome-sensei. As it turned out, they were the only ones from her class who hadn't joined a club yet. Tsukune decided not to ask how Saizou had joined a club despite being absent from school and instead wondered if the teacher could help them.

"Hmmmm… what if you all joined my club, nya~? I'm the adviser for the Newspaper Club! But no one has joined, so we'll get shut down... you'll help me out, right, nya~?" Her tail was out again, swishing back and forth slowly, eagerly awaiting their answer.

The trio talked it over. None of them could say they were incredibly interested in joining such a club, but… maybe it could be interesting. It was an opportunity for them to work together. Moka could better befriend the other two. Kurumu could get closer to Tsukune. Tsukune could get to know the other students, and also get closer to Kurumu if he wanted that, he supposed.

When they agreed to join, Nekonome's tail began waving in agitated excitement and she welcomed them warmly. Maybe now, her precious club could finally get back on its feet…

* * *

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…is something the matter, nya~?"

The trio looked around at the empty classroom and then at each other. Tsukune spoke up first, wondering who else was in the club. When Nekonome pointed out it would just be them and one more, they could only speculate about who that one other (presumably the president) could be.

Then said person walked in the room.

"Excuse me! Sorry for being late…"

He, a black-haired and green-eyed man wearing a red headband, wolf's head necklace, and the typical school uniform, entered carrying two bouquets – one of red roses and one of yellow roses. He projected a beaming smile directly at Moka and Kurumu. "Pleased to meet you both… and to you as well, I suppose," he added once he noticed Tsukune's presence. "I'm Morioka Ginei, but you can just call me Gin… or your sempai, hahaha~. I hope you don't mind that I stopped to get these gifts."

He offered Moka the bouquet of red roses, practically shoving them into her hands. "For you, my dear beautiful new club member~! I look forward to getting to know you better…"

He offered Kurumu the bouquet of yellow roses, but she was hiding behind Tsukune so he let the guy take them. "And these are for you… I'm sure you'll find that these flowers suit you lovely ladies, hahaha~. Now then, perhaps we should get started with club activities?" He turned to Nekonome, who was gathering her belongings and preparing to leave the classroom.

"Of course! You can ask Gin-kun anything you want about the club, as he's the only 3rd year member, nya~. Sorry for having to leave, but I have a staff meeting. Go be friends now, nya~!"

With that she departed and left the students alone.

Gin stood behind the teacher's desk and addressed the trio, who were now sitting down. "So, first of all, welcome to the Newspaper Club! Our responsibility is publishing the school newspaper, as you probably expected. Our activities are investigating academy happenings, writing snippets and articles on them, and putting them in the paper. Beyond that, we have free reign over its design, what gets published and so on…"

He leaned forward, smirking at them. "I won't lie. We'll be put in danger time and time again for the sake of reporting. You better prepare yourselves; this won't be an easy ride…"

Moka turned to Tsukune and Kurumu and whispered to them. "Maybe he's someone we can depend on after all…" The other two nodded, now inclined to take Gin more seriously.

Gin then broke the mood by laughing, saying he was messing with them, and that they'd start off easy before doing any actual investigations. He handed Kurumu and Moka a few poster ads and told them to go put them up on the classroom walls. The ad alerted students that a new edition of the newspaper was on the way and that they were looking for hot rumors and stories to report about. Tsukune went to assist the short Kurumu in this task, leaving a hesitant Moka with Gin.

Kurumu pulled over a chair so that Tsukune could better reach the high places Gin had asked them to reach. More specifically, asked her to reach, but… well... it's not like she was entirely opposed to Tsukune seeing her panties, but there was a time and place for that sort of thing. Not with this obvious flimsy pretext. Hopefully, Moka had realized what the man's plan was and…

Kurumu thought about it for a second and then facepalmed.

Tsukune paused in putting up posters and turned to Kurumu. "Kurumu-chan? What's the…" Then he just happened to notice what a certain sempai was doing on the other side of the classroom. "Huh!? Gin-sempai, what are you…!? Ahh!" Tsukune, shocked, lost his balance, and fell out of the chair, conveniently onto Kurumu ("I'll catch you, Tsukune-kun~!").

By the time Moka had turned around due to the commotion, there was no way to tell that Gin had been trying to peep up her skirt. Kurumu and Tsukune were lying in a pile on the ground, poster ads haphazardly spread around them, and Gin was already on the scene asking if the two were okay. He had reached out a hand to Kurumu, but the succubus slapped it away.

After checking that Tsukune was okay, she stood up and confronted Gin, pointing an accusing finger and glare at him. "I'm on to your game, Gin-sempai! I don't like flirty guys like you! Just now, you were trying to look up Moka's skirt weren't you? Guys like you are just the…!"

Gin interrupted her before things could get out of his control. "Whoa whoa whoa… looking up an underclassman's skirt? Come on, do you really think I'm so uncool? I wouldn't do that… Tsukune-kun, you didn't see anything did you?"

Tsukune gave Gin a confused look. "Eh? But that's definitely what it looked like…"

Gin shook his head, doing his best not to look obviously guilty. "I assure you, you're both seeing things. I was just making sure my dear Moka-chan over here doesn't fall over or drop anything… but if it'll re-assure you, I'll switch with you, Kurumu-chan. Sound fair?"

Kurumu frowned, but ultimately accepted the switch.

She started talking to Moka about her prior experiences with guys like Gin and things to watch out for. Moka was confused but ultimately expressed thanks for the tips. Meanwhile, Gin was trying to convince Tsukune to help him out with seducing Moka, but the guy wasn't interested in playing ball. If anything, Tsukune was trying to warn him against doing such a thing.

Fine then. He'd do this his own way.

* * *

Morioka Ginei was in his final year at Youkai Academy. He'd been many things – a common delinquent, an underling of Otonashi San, and a man unable to stop their club from having been destroyed by the Public Safety Commission – but one thing that was a constant for him was his demeanor towards girls. Well, most girls. San had been the sole exception so far. All other girls he deemed beautiful and available were fair game for flirtation.

A rumor had already spread about Kurumu and Tsukune being lovey-dovey, which was only intensified when she made the odd choice for a succubus to stop hitting on other guys too. Gin couldn't say he was too interested in her, but after meeting her, he felt justified in his choice to focus on Akashiya Moka. And as for her… she was an enigma.

An apparently mild-mannered girl, she had the ability to transform into a so-called "super vampire", a menacing presence upon the world. An already pretty cute, if a little plain, girl in his eyes, her other form was said to be more alluring, more breathtaking, more commanding. He hadn't witnessed that transformation himself, but the spinning rumor mill had him curious.

There had a be a way for him to witness her beauty and power…

According to the school's rumors, that transformation was linked to the rosary she always wore. If so, it was just a matter of putting her in a situation where she would need to remove it…

Hmm… perhaps… it was time to send his underlings out for some journalistic exercises?

* * *

Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to make anything up to get Kurumu and Tsukune out of his hair. The opportunity came straight to them, in the form of an envelope.

At the club meeting, he was teaching the trio about formatting and about the typical layout of the paper. Namely that because they had free reign over its design, it had no typical layout, each successive year modifying the one left behind. They were discussing what changes the new members would want to make when Nekonome walked in with snacks (raw fish…) for the group and said envelope for…

"Eh? It's for me?" asked Kurumu. She took it out of her sensei's hands and read the outside. "To my beloved…!? Oh no! Tsukune-kun, this isn't what it looks like, I swear! I can explain!" She promptly tackle-hugged an already-prepared Tsukune and started rambling out apologies for having charmed others previously, explanations about how she wasn't using her powers on anyone, and context regarding stalkers in the past who had sent similar letters to her. All of this while she was crying in his arms as he re-assured her that he would support her.

The other two were glad that Tsukune managed to get some meaning out of that, because they had no context for anything she had just said and could barely parse it anyway.

Kurumu had left the envelope on the desk, and Gin picked it up and examined it. Sure enough, it was sent by someone named "Nagare" to his "beloved Kurumu-chan". He rubbed it a bit and felt that it contained multiple slips of something. Letters? Photos? Only way to know was to open it.

Tsukune released a now soothed but still misty-eyed Kurumu, and she took it out of Gin's hands. He alerted her about his findings and suggested she be careful when opening it. He also asked if she knew who this guy was, but she didn't recognize his name at all.

He stroked his chin. "Hmmm… Curious. Well, as the Newspaper Club, incidents like this are what we're supposed to investigate. Kurumu-chan, do you want to take the lead? I'm sure Tsukune-kun won't mind helping you either, right?"

The two looked at each other, looked back at Gin, and accepted the mission.

* * *

"I'm surprised you accepted those terms, Kurumu-chan…"

"Hm? What do you mean, Tsukune-kun?"

The two were outside wandering the school grounds, looking for the location "Nagare" had indicated in the letter her left along with the many, _many_ pictures of Kurumu in… _compromising_ positions. Seriously, stalking Kurumu had to be all this guy did to get some of those! At least, that's what Kurumu claimed since she refused to let Tsukune see them. When she opened the envelope at a point when the two of them were alone, as soon as she pulled out one of the pictures, she immediately went bright red and shoved his face into her chest and demanded he not look at the rest. And they started with one of her in a locker room, in a state of undress…

Tsukune shook his head. He needed to focus. Now was not the time for fantasizing about…

"Well, if we're doing this, that leaves Gin-sempai alone with Moka-san, right? And you were concerned about him… he gives me an odd vibe too, and he can't take a hint either…"

Kurumu nodded. "Yes, yes, indeed, Tsukune-kun! Gin-sempai is no good like that, even if he is a good club sempai! But I gave Moka-san some tips, so she should be all right. Anyway, it's not like she's a pushover. Her current form is almost as strong as the other one; she just hates fighting, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right." She had mentioned that at some point while they were searching for clubs. And demonstrated it by casually uprooting a tree and planting it somewhere else, upsetting the spirit dwelling inside of it. Moka had apologized and offered to care for that tree as penance.

"Come to think of it, why does she have two personalities anyway? From what I read, the rosary is just supposed to seal abilities and strength. Do you think she already had them?"

Kurumu put a finger on her chin. "So… you think she's two people in one?"

Tsukune shrugged. "Who knows? She doesn't…"

"Hm… I think… oh, we're here." They were behind one of the gyms, looking for the shed marked in the clearing indicated in the hand-drawn map Kurumu had been given along with the letter. It was a good distance away from most other buildings, clearly meant to give her no way of calling for help or escaping from this person's grasp. They didn't know exactly what this person had planned; the letter only demanded that she appear at a certain time 'or else'.

Tsukune turned to Kurumu. "So what's the…" He paused, noticing that there were now two Kurumus. He blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, while the two Kurumus chuckled and latched themselves to his sides.

"Do you see…"

"…something you like?"

"Or maybe…"

"…someone~?"

Face bright red, he changed the subject by asking what she was doing. She explained, "it's my illusion power, hahahahaha~!" Only one of the two were real, the false one created by her ability to alter the perceptions of others. Tsukune had read of this succubus power, but was quickly realizing and appreciating the differences between knowing that something is possible and seeing someone to do it. Even he couldn't tell the two apart. It wasn't until he noticed the fake lacked a shadow that he knew which one was the illusory body.

"Mhm! So I'll have to be careful about that… it's almost time, so this me will go and wait!"

The fake Kurumu went into the clearing and leaned against a tree while Tsukune and the real Kurumu hid somewhere nearby. They didn't have to wait long until their culprit appeared – a sickly-looking young boy with wild unkempt hair covering his face and old-school camera in hand. The boy introduced himself as Nagare to the fake Kurumu, who asked what he wanted.

"Have you forgotten me so easily, my dear lady? This wasn't that long ago… I asked you if you wanted flattering pictures, and you said I could take you on a date if I took good ones. Well, how am I supposed to take those pictures if you suddenly disappear on me!? I don't know what you see in that Aono guy, and I don't care! We had a deal, so I'm making you stick to it! Now then… if you'll follow me, I have some garments prepared for our photo session, hehehehe…"

The boy led the fake Kurumu away, while the real Kurumu hid her face in Tsukune's chest.

"Oh no…"

"Kurumu-chan… how many other boys did you flirt with?"

"…a lot… not all of them were like this though, I swear!"

Tsukune sighed. He supposed he should just get used to this and expect it to happen again. "We should probably follow the other you so we can see what's happening."

"…Tsukune-kun… Do you want to see me in strange outfits that badly?"

He blushed. "Not what I meant!" he said in a harsh whisper. But that at least got a chuckle out of her, and the two changed locations.

Nagare had brought the fake Kurumu behind the shed, where he had left an assortment of fetish and cosplay outfits. He was attempting to cajole her into changing into changing into one of them with no success, and he was getting quite angry. Eventually, he snapped and partially transformed into what appeared to be a slug, and spewed a cloud of gas at the illusionary body.

"Hehehehe… how do you like that? Now that you're paralyzed by my gas, you have no choice but to submit! So, let's start with the one-piece swimsuit and work of our way from there…"

A distance away, Tsukune was alerting Kurumu about what little he knew about slug youkai. They were quite weak physically, but made up for it by spewing various types of toxic gas and being unpleasant to be around. This guy must specialize in a paralyzing agent. But if they didn't breathe it in, they'd be fine. They started coming up with a plan, but with no one else nearby…

"Hm!? Is someone there!?"

…even the otherwise occupied Nagare would hear something carry through the air.

He walked towards where he thought the noise was coming from, and was surprised to see Aono Tsukune with what looked like a golf club suddenly lunge at him from behind a tree. Nagare barely dodged it. The guy swung again, and missed again. And he turned one of his eyestalks to see another Tsukune waiting with a net some distance away.

He had also noticed the two were wearing mouth masks.

_This was a trap!? Using my dear Kurumu-chan like this… how dare he! I'll show him!_

Nagare smirked. Tsukune must not have known that a simple mouth mask wouldn't be enough. He let loose a burst of gas that covered the two but left the more distant Kurumu alone. They promptly fell over, immobilized. Nagare went over to the Tsukune with the net, and kicked him as hard as he could in the side. The pained grunt he heard was soothing to his soul.

"You fool. Hahaha~! Now I can just get rid of you and she'll be all mine to do with as I please." As a slug youkai, he had no offensive potential – only his specialized gasses. So he went to search for a decent-sized rock… ah. That one would do. He walked with stone in hand and an evil grin on his face towards a terrified Tsukune. "Say goodbye~!"

But before he could attack, he felt an ominous and menacing aura suddenly arise from all around him. It surrounded him, enveloped him, swallowed him whole. All he could feel was fear. He dropped the stone and it fell harmlessly on the ground. He watched as the trees around him suddenly came alive, their roots and branches writhing with malice and driving him away from the helpless boy. But he couldn't move fast enough, and they struck at him. He dodged but…

…the outcome was far worse, as he suddenly found himself being sliced up by razor winds.

No!

He struggled to regain focus.

It was not winds, but claws… no, nails… nails on the hands of… his dear Kurumu-chan!

He lay in a pool of his own blood, under the malevolent and wrathful gaze of the succubus. Too weakened to move or attack, he could only beg for mercy.

Kurumu growled out her next words. "_**Mercy**_**!? For you!? The one who would have made me your plaything? The one who so casually wanted to kill my love Tsukune!?**" She walked towards him. "**I want nothing more than to kill you where you lay, you worthless slug!**" She stood next to Nagare, gazing balefully down upon him with eyes that were now blood red. "**Do you understand!? Each moment I haven't killed you yet is the closest you will ever get to mercy from me. Your dreams of me will be transformed into nightmares where you cower and flee from my sight. And if I hear that you're stalking another girl or you even **_**think**_** of taking it out on my Tsukune, I will…!**"

She stopped ranting, not because she was out of things to say, but because Nagare had already passed out. He'd likely bleed out and die if left without medical care.

Suddenly feeling drained, her eyes went back to normal. She looked upon what she had done while in her enraged state. Nagare was a bloody mess, and Tsukune gazed upon her with eyes full of fear. Deeply saddened, she carried Tsukune and dragged Nagare to the infirmary.

* * *

"I'm a stupid dumb idiot~!" yelled Kurumu into a pillow. Ever since the incident with Nagare, she had been evading Tsukune as much as possible. She was absent from lunch and avoided interacting with him at the Newspaper Club. And whenever he approached her, she grew flustered, made up some convincing (to her) excuse, and ran away. She sighed. She felt like just couldn't face him. Not now that she had felt and seen his fear, had it aimed right at her.

Someone put a hand on her shoulder. She looked back – it was Akashiya Moka. The only good thing Kurumu could say that came out of this was that now she was closer friends with the vampire. After leaving Tsukune and Nagare in the infirmary a few days ago, she ran to Moka's dorm room in tears and told her everything that had happened. She was leaning into that touch now as the vampire spoke, at the same time massaging Kurumu's shoulders.

"Kurono-san… relax… I'm sure if you talk it out with Aono-kun, it'll be fine… he's a human, remember? Of course, he'll be shocked to see how brutal youkai fights can be. He's not used to that kind of violence. Humans hide it by forcing it only on certain groups of people."

"I know that but…" Kurumu began, glancing back at Moka despondently, "…I can't help but feel that… I ruined things between us… things that were going so well… I think he was starting to…" She stopped, turned away, and then kept speaking. "I don't know what to say… and I don't know where _that_ came from either." That malevolent force that burst out from within her…

She never realized she could feel such hatred, and never wanted to again. And it was all because of that slug, _daring_ to try and kill her _precious_… She shook her head, dispelling that thought.

Moka made an inquisitive noise, but Kurumu didn't open up. Moka moved down to Kurumu's back, kneading out the tension, and said thus: "Just tell the truth… it worked for him, right?"

Kurumu moaned under the attention of Moka's deft hands. "I guess… I don't know… but I have no choice I suppose…" She grunted in frustration, and then took both her hands and clapped her face. "OK! I'll do it when I'm ready… No, first chance I get! For sure! Definitely!"

Moka chuckled as Kurumu continued to psych herself up.

The two then went on to discuss other matters – classwork (Kurumu was still no good at math despite Moka's help), hobbies (Moka agreed to teach Kurumu some of her massage techniques), family (Moka had recently received a call from her younger sister; the family was doing well), ideas for the upcoming break (relaxing in the human world), and so on. During this, Moka brought up that she had received a similar letter as Kurumu's but from an anonymous different person and with no pictures. It contained one demand – that Moka meet the person on the roof of a certain building on the upcoming night of the full moon.

"Morioka-sempai offered to help me investigate but… I'd rather have you by my side," said Moka, who was now being massaged by Kurumu. The succubus was an eager student for a pleased teacher. "Ummm… if you want to, of course. You don't have to…"

"No problem! I'd love to help you," said the grateful succubus.

Moka smiled. "Thank you, Kurono-san. Here's my idea…" And so, the discussion continued.

* * *

Eventually, that day came. Moka went up to the roof alone. Kurumu hung back nearby.

And as for Tsukune…

He couldn't help but worry about them despite his own vulnerability, and followed them in secret. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened that day with Nagare.

Foolishness. Failure. Fear.

All his fault.

Since recovering, he'd wanted to apologize to Kurumu for his mistakes, but she kept avoiding him. Well, it's not like he should've expected anything else given how he reacted to her sudden bloodlust. But still, he didn't want to lose her friendship over this. Not when he was…

He shook his head, and looked around the corner from his vantage point behind one of the school buildings. Kurumu was on the roof of one of the dorms nearby, evidently keeping an eye on Moka. The vampire had been summoned there for an unknown purpose by an unknown agent. He didn't know what their plan was, but trusted the two of them to handle it. He was just going to wait there for them to finish. Maybe run and grab help if things got out of hand.

He turned away and sighed, feeling like he was totally useless to his friends.

"Tsukune-kun… stalking people… is no good~!"

He was so thoroughly in his own head that he hardly noticed Kurumu sneak up behind him. Surprised, he gave a little shout and fell over. Kurumu laughed a bit, and helped him up.

Tsukune noticed that she didn't hang onto him like usual. She looked away, flustered. He did the same, fidgeting with his pockets. They occasionally exchanged glances and then looked away. Suddenly, now that they were right in front of each other, neither seemed to know what to do.

"Kurumu-chan." "Tsukune-kun."

The two spoke at the same time, looking dead on at each other with some newfound measure of resolution. Sensing each other's intentions, they spoke at the same time once more.

"I'm sorry."

They blinked at each other, both looking confused.

"…I know why I'm apologizing, but why are you?" asked Tsukune. "None of that stuff would have happened if it wasn't for my plan."

"That's not the point, Tsukune-kun. You're not a youkai. I shouldn't have let you do that, not by yourself," countered Kurumu. "I don't need to move to use my illusions, so…"

…_I know that's true but…_ "Even so, I wouldn't have just let you put yourself in danger," he added. "It doesn't matter if I'm a human and you're a youkai. You're my friend, and I…"

He hesitated, but wasn't sure why. Was there something else he wanted to say? Something… it eluded him. "…I want to be able to help you. The same way you've been helping me survive."

Kurumu smiled at him. "Thanks, Tsukune-kun~! I appreciate it… but…" She drew near to him, and took his arm in hers as she kept going. "You already are helping us, silly~!"

Before he could ask what she meant by that, they heard a familiar scream coming from the rooftops. It was following by savage howling.

Concerned, Kurumu grabbed Tsukune and they took flight. When they arrived on the rooftops, they found Gin transformed into the form of a werewolf and attacking Moka. Yet it was clear that he was playing with her. He was pulling his punches, aiming to just barely miss, and demanding that she transform into her other form.

In fact, when they distracted the two by calling out to Moka, that was the first time he had actually landed a blow – a kick that sent her reeling towards the two of them. She crash-landed just in front of them. They rushed to help her up as Gin howled in frustration.

"Come on, Moka-chan! Transform already! I want to fight your more alluring other side~!"

Tsukune blinked. "That's what this is about? Fighting?"

Kurumu shook her head. "It's not that simple. Moka-san, do you want to explain?"

Moka thanked them for their help and stood on her own. She explained what led to this point. Kurumu and Moka made a plan to investigate the anonymous giver of the letter on their own, as Kurumu was avoiding Tsukune and Moka was avoiding Gin. (Kurumu pointed out that these were for very different reasons). Moka was on the rooftop seemingly alone when Gin showed up, wondering if she had found the culprit. An illusionary Kurumu then popped up and accused Gin of being the culprit, which he naturally denied. But then he started aggressively flirting with Moka and trying to forcefully remove her rosary. When the two girls stood up to him, he responded by attacking them, dissolving the illusion and forcing Moka to go on the defensive.

"I see… in other words… Gin-sempai is a masochist!" declared Tsukune.

The others stared at him in confusion (with a bit of amusement mixed in for Kurumu).

Tsukune blushed in embarrassment. "What? I mean, you all know what the other Moka-san did to that guy, right? She knocked him out with one kick! Who'd want to fight someone like that?"

Gin laughed. "Hahahaha… Tsukune-kun… a weakling like you wouldn't get it. The rush and the thrill of a good fight… I've been missing it for a good long while. You should know that even though I said I was messing with you all, I wasn't kidding when I said you might end up in danger for the sake of reporting. We used to be the beacon of truth at this Academy, and had to fight in order to shine that light on all its corners. And you've learned that the hard way."

Kurumu frowned and glared at Gin. He ignored her and continued.

"But now we just report on trivial rumors! It's boring… so when someone as interesting as a so-called 'super-vampire' arrives, of course I'm going to use my full power as a journalist and go investigate! Especially when that 'super-vampire' might be as alluring as what I've heard…"

Moka stepped forward. "Is that really what you want, Morioka-sempai? To see her?"

In truth, she could feel an intense burning sensation coming from the rosary that started the moment Gin transformed. Since the day she first had the rosary pulled off by Tsukune, she was able to communicate with the other her through it. Eventually, she learned to transform at will by doing the same. The two had quite distinct personalities – while one loved peace, the other craved battle; one was meek, the other was menacing; and so on. She could tell the other her wanted this fight. She put a hand on her rosary, and ripped it clean off.

In a flash of blinding light, she transformed into…

"Oh my… seems like a little lost puppy has come out to play… I hope you can satisfy me."

Gin smirked. Despite her cool demeanor, he could see the excitement in the silver-haired Moka's red eyes. The same was shining in his. "I should be saying that to you! You're more beautiful than I thought, but let's see if your strength matches up. It's the night of a full moon, after all~!"

Before any of them could ask what he meant, he vanished.

He then re-appeared beside Moka and she barely dodged his onslaught of rapid punches. His momentum carried them away from Kurumu and Tsukune and towards the center of the rooftop. This gave them more space to work with.

The differences between how they fought couldn't be clearer. Gin used his overwhelming speed to keep Moka on evasion and defense, meaning that whenever she had the chance to strike, she ended up missing and breaking something instead. Each time this happened, she grew more and more frustrated, and threw out more and more wild attacks to try and intercept the werewolf.

But to no avail.

And the cycle continued, on and on, over and over, until she took advantage of one critical moment. Gin had thrown out a punch at the same time as Moka. Her overwhelming power won out, knocking him off-balance. She followed through and delivered a second, more powerful, punch into Gin's stomach, and then kicked him in the face. Launched with great force, he crashed through the fence encircling the roof and fell down to the ground.

Moka smirked. She was breathing heavily from exertion, but the few of his blows that did land didn't do much damage to her or her clothing. She chuckled. "What a fool… I hope you've realized your place, Gin-sempai… it won't do for me to be with a weakling like you."

She took out the rosary from her pocket, and transformed back into the usual Moka.

Kurumu flew over to grab her before she could collapse onto the hard roof.

"Thanks, Kurono-san… We should grab Morioka-sempai too."

Kurumu and Tsukune both agreed to this. Tsukune also noted that their commotion had alerted some people that something was going on, as he noticed some lights turning on in nearby buildings. Kurumu carried the three of them down from the rooftop, and together they swiftly recovered the unconscious Gin and dragged him off to his dorm room while escaping all notice.

Or at least, that's what they thought…

* * *

Even without a stay in the infirmary, Gin recovered quickly. After skipping classes, he returned to the club classroom at the end of the day. Unlike normal, he was the first to arrive. Also unlike normal, he was the only one there. He sat down and waited for a while, but no one came.

He sighed. Well, he'd sure blown it this time.

Now that he was sitting down and thinking about it, there were better ways that he could have gone about things. Maybe started off by trying to befriend Moka and get to know her better. Maybe by being more upfront earlier about wanting to fight her other half. Maybe tell them all about how this was his last shot at breathing life in this club, the gift his sempai had left for him. But none of that mattered now.

Hopefully, they wouldn't spread any rumors and he could…

His train of thought was interrupted by that trio entering the club room. He stared at them for a moment in shock, but quickly went back to his normal demeanor. "Well, well, took you long enough to get here! For a second, I was worried you'd run off on me. But I should've known that you-"

"Morioka-sempai."

Moka interrupted him. All three of them had serious looks on their faces.

"We've come to an agreement. We've decided to give you another chance. But… that depends on you. I want you to stop with all the… well, you know… the flirting and stuff. I really don't like it and it makes me not want to be around you. The other me says I should just beat you up if you do anything like that again, but I'd rather do things this way. So… do you accept?"

Gin frowned. Sure, he wanted them back, but… he was the upperclassman here! He should be making demands of them, not the other way around. But as soon as he said as much, Moka sighed in disappointment and the three of them started to walk out of the room in unison.

"Hold on a second! I was just uh… kidding, yeah! Hahaha! I accept, of course!" _Please don't leave, I'm begging you_ is what was left unsaid. Didn't need to go that far, he hoped. For him to go that far just to keep Moka around… he needed to re-think what he was doing, for sure.

In any case, it looked he had saved his precious club. The trio agreed to work under him again. Moka mentioned that despite mocking him and calling him a weakling, the other her wouldn't mind fighting him again. He was the best challenge she'd had so far at the Academy…

He accepted.

But before he could get too excited, the door opened again, and in stepped…

"Ah yes, of course you'd end up with these three troublemakers, Morioka Ginei."

…a man with long blond hair, pointy ears, and an all-black uniform. He was attended by several others in similar uniforms, but they hung back outside the clubroom. There was no way to tell if they simply expected nothing to happen or were hoping something would get started and wanted to watch the carnage… or maybe join in.

"Hey now, Kuyou, what's that supposed to mean? I don't go looking for trouble, it…"

"…just finds you, yes, yes, I've heard your excuses before," interrupted Kuyou. "Well then, I'll just get to business. The less time I have to spend in your mangy presence the better."

Kuyou ignored Gin's grumbling and gazed down upon the trio of Moka, Tsukune, and Kurumu. "Good day to you three. I am Kuyou, head of the Public Safety Commission. As you should be aware, it is our duty to keep this Academy safe and maintain the peace. We do this by containing any potential sources of unrest, such as your club president over there. And you, Akashiya Moka, have gained our attention. As you are now, you are no concern. But your other side…"

Moka gulped. She nodded, understanding the implied threat. So did her other side, and she felt a desire to fight coming from her rosary. But this wasn't a good time or the right person to fight.

Kuyou nodded. "Excellent. I'm glad you understand. Unlike your dog of a sempai, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Now, let's make sure it stays that way, shall we? Don't let us catch you causing any more trouble. The same goes for you as well, Kurono Kurumu and Aono Tsukune. Understand?"

He waited for them to agree before he continued. "I'll let you three off easy since this is your first year, but no more acting out from now on. Otherwise, you will be subject to punishments of our choice ranging from suspension to expulsion depending on how we feel. You will comply."

Not waiting for their response, he departed from the room, reminding Gin to keep their arrangement in mind before publishing any materials for the next newspaper. Gin flippantly agreed as the Commission members left.

Tsukune, not realizing he had been holding his breath, exhaled and started breathing normally. He was relieved to see that Kurumu and Moka felt the same. He looked at Gin, who was now busy gathering and setting up club materials. "Gin-sempai, what was that all about?"

"Oh, him? Mr. 'You will comply'? That's Kuyou. He's been the head of the Commission for the past year and stayed on I suppose. He, like every other head, is basically a thug who does what he wants while acting like everything he does is just. He's awful. One time, some random human got lost in the nearby woods and wandered onto the campus… Kuyou had the poor sucker crucified and burned alive. And he'll even torture, extort, and blackmail other youkai! He and his group drove out all the other members of this club after we got it in our heads to criticize them."

Tsukune was trying very hard not to faint from sheer horror after the mention of the murdered human. "O-oh, I see… s-so we shouldn't get involved with them, and everything will be f-fine, right?" He could feel his dreams of finishing high school alive fading before his eyes. Kurumu leaned him into her side to show her support, for which he was more than grateful.

"Yeah, pretty much. We just pay their bribe and have them OK whatever we print. It's not ideal, but there's nothing we can do about it… but enough negative talk! Let's get to work, shall we?"

The room was setup, and so another meeting of the Newspaper Club began, but with a new context that made it feel like it was their first meeting as a more unified club.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – "You're quite brave to so openly be a witch around here, you know."

The Newspaper Club meeting came and went, and the group split up to return to their respective dorms. Gin had an impression that something was off with Tsukune ever since Kuyou had dropped by to threaten them all, but shrugged it off, assuming his newfound kouhai would get over it. _He_ had, after all. The two waved good bye to each other and departed.

Tsukune entered his dorm room, making sure he wasn't being watched. He locked the door, crawled into bed, brought a pillow to his face, and promptly started screaming and crying into it.

He lay in his panicked state for several hours, which he only knew after the fact when he noticed the sun had gone down and it had been night-time for a while. He crawled out of bed, face wet, went to his window, opened it, and looked upon the horizon. The stars and waning moon were out in full display. Few lights were on in the buildings he could see; many were going out. If he cared to observe closely, he could have watched the nocturnal youkai as they went about their lives.

He sighed. How much longer would he be able to live like this? To live with them? To live at all…?

His brooding was interrupted by Kurumu suddenly flying into view right in front of him. He fell over, startled, but managed not to scream by covering his mouth. She let herself in, landing softly on the floor, and approached him with a serious look on her face. She sat down beside him.

Tsukune began to breathe normally. He didn't know why, but even Kurumu could startle him now. …no, he could hazard a guess. His fear was starting to erode his faith on his fellow students, even the ones who had been standing beside him since the beginning.

They deserved better. _She_ deserved better.

For once, he was the one who drew her into a hug. He was leaning against his bed, and she was now leaning into his front. Kurumu was surprised at first, but she became glad, and a smile and a blush warmed her face. She could feel her own heartbeat speeding, and knew the same was true for her Tsukune. She intentionally slowed her breath, and Tsukune soon joined her in unison.

"Tsukune-kun… may I… s-stay here with you, just for tonight?"

He didn't answer immediately. He knew that he was supposed to say 'no'. It was inappropriate for a girl to stay over in the boy's dorms. It was inappropriate for a human to be comforted by a youkai when both were under the wrathful gaze of the Public Safety Commission. It was surely inappropriate Kurumu to be with a useless deadweight man like him, specifically.

"I'd… like that. Thank you, Kurumu-chan."

He was weak.

He wanted to change that.

* * *

Luckily, Kurumu wasn't caught sneaking over to the boy's dorm that night, nor was she noticed sneaking out early in the morning just as the sun was starting to rise. Every instinct and urge inside her had been crying out for her to claim him as hers that night, but she managed to resist.

It wasn't the right time.

But she could feel the flames in his heart burning brighter and brighter with love for her. They were tinged with doubts and marked by hesitation, yet buttressed by friendship and hope.

A perfect match for her own.

She cheerfully laughed to herself as she skulked towards her dorm room.

* * *

As for Tsukune, he appreciated Kurumu's love and care, but knew it would not be enough. After classes and the club meeting ended for that day, he pulled Kurumu and Moka aside and asked the two of them for a big favor.

"…you want us to train you, Aono-kun?" asked a confused Moka.

Kurumu grumbled under her breath. "Tsukune-kun~!" she whined. "We can do the fighting!"

Even the other Moka had to chime in, her concerns being voiced by her pink-haired counterpart. The idea that Tsukune could defeat anyone in Kuyou's gang was ludicrous, especially since the trio had no idea what powers they had and Tsukune had no powers or special skills of his own.

"That's right! No offense, Tsukune-kun, but you should let us take care of these things," added Kurumu with firm certainty. The very idea of her dear Tsukune getting into a fight and getting hurt… or worse, _dying_… was making her blood boil. She had to forcefully resist the urge to be more demanding. "It isn't right for you to be fighting against youkai with the way you are!"

Tsukune went on the defensive. "I don't want to fight either," he countered. "But… they might not give me a choice. Wouldn't it be good if I at least knew a little bit about how to defend myself if that happened? Enough to make them reconsider or to get myself to safety."

He could tell that Moka was coming around but Kurumu still wasn't convinced. After what happened when he was last involved in fights against youkai, that wasn't surprising.

"Kurumu-chan… please? I'd really appreciate it…"

She turned away from him. "…Fine."

He blinked. _Eh?_

This didn't feel right. Why was…?

…_oh! I see._

Now that he thought about it, it was obvious. He slapped his forehead in frustration. "Kurumu-chan, I didn't mean to imply that I don't think you can protect me. Sorry about that."

She looked relieved, and relaxed a bit. Looks like he got it right.

He took her hand, squeezed it, and smiled at her. "I'll still be relying on you. Thanks!"

She blushed. "O-of course you will! N-no problem!"

They started the training that day, focusing on gauging Tsukune's defenses, reactions, and speed. He was starting from a pretty low vantage point, but hoped he could improve a bit well before he needed to put his newfound skills to the test. And it was not long after these training sessions began that the next incident of note happened: they helped out a familiar little witch girl.

* * *

The first time happened not too long after their first major round of exams. Tsukune was firmly in the middle, as he wanted to be – not standing out. Kurumu was near the bottom (much to her chagrin) and Moka was near the top (much to her pleasure). He glanced at some of the other names and noticed some of the others he had met while searching for clubs to join.

"Isn't the one in 1st place for all of these that little witch girl?" he asked his two comrades.

"Ah, Sendo-san? Yes, I think you're right, Aono-kun…" commented Moka.

"You mean the one who knocked you out on accident?" grumbled Kurumu.

"Kurumu-chan, she said she was sorry…"

"I know, I know…" she conceded, "but still! She needs to be careful about that kind of thing! Not everyone at this academy is as forgiving as we are. I hope she's doing alright…"

Her hopes were immediately dashed when they finally noticed the commotion behind them.

"Hey, give me back my hat! You meanie! Give it!"

"Hmph. Such insolence. This is no way to talk to your class president. Learn some manners!"

The resounding sound of a slap rung out. A crowd had gathered around a spectacle.

Moka was already running towards the sound of violence before Tsukune or Kurumu could get a word in. Tsukune sighed. Kurumu chuckled. They followed the path her wrathful steps made in the barren earth, and forced their way through the crowd. She was starting down the so-called class president, standing between him and a Sendo Yukari who was nursing her bruised cheek.

"Hm? Akashiya Moka? Do you have some business here?" asked the red-haired man who assaulted Yukari, one Wanibuchi Tadashi. "I don't believe we're in the same class…"

"Leave the girl alone," she asserted.

"Oh? I don't believe you're in a position to be making demands of me." He then pointed at Yukari, who flinched and huddled behind Moka. "That girl you're defending is a nuisance and a disgrace despite her high marks. Then again, I don't know why I expected anything else from a lowly creature like a witch. So why would you, a so-called 'super-vampire', defend her?"

"We youkai should be working together, not be at each other's throats."

"Tactical unity, then? I suppose I can respect that. But I'll have no more to do with her." With that, he tossed Yukari's hat at a glaring Moka. "She's your responsibility, now, Moka-san… I hope you can handle her."

He laughed, and walked off, flanked by two of his allies. The crowd then dispersed in short order.

Moka breathed a sigh of relief, not really wanting to fight, and turned to Yukari with a smile on her face, as if to reassure. She handed the young black-haired girl her hat. Yukari, still seemingly in shock, managed to mumble out a thank you as she took it out of Moka's outstretched hand.

"Are you alright, Sendo-san?" the vampire asked.

"Y-yes… I… I…" Yukari mumbled, her face bright red and partially hidden beneath her giant hat. "ThankyouverymuchIgottogobye!" She then ran off, much to Moka's surprise.

Kurumu and Tsukune approached her, and they departed to take care of their own matters for the afternoon. But Moka couldn't help but wonder what the class president meant by what he said…

* * *

"Moka-san… is she still following you around?" asked Kurumu.

Moka looked behind her. Sure enough, the little witch girl was there, and waved to them. When Kurumu turned to look at her, the girl hid behind nearby cover – in this case, around a nearby corner. But the typical witch's hat the girl wore was still poking out from behind the wall.

"I wish she'd just come talk to us…" Tsukune sighed.

Several days had passed since the incident where Moka had saved Yukari from her bully of a class president. The little witch girl hadn't been harassed since; the man had kept to his word.

Instead, he took a different approach towards her – isolation. Yukari noticed that after that day her classmates had begun ignoring her rather than being actively hostile towards her. Whenever she would prank someone, she would no longer received annoyance, anger, or the rarest reaction of amusement. Instead, there was silence. She was being ignored, even by the few students who had dared to be on the side of a 'lowly' witch before. It got to the point where the teachers wouldn't even call on her, even though they knew that she would know the answers to their questions. She had spent all this time studying, been so eager to be with her fellow youkai after being homeschooled by her parents… and it was all for nothing. She was alone again. Sure, her idol Moka had helped her out, but she could tell that it was only out of pity and-

"Umm… excuse me, Sendo-san?"

Yukari blinked. She was sitting, huddled, crying. She wiped the tears from her eyes, looked over and up, and _OH GODS ITS MOKA I'M NOT READY FOR THIS AAAAAAAA_

"Errr… Sendo-san?"

_DON'T JUST STARE AT HER GORGEOUS BODY, SAY SOMETHING!_

"What!? I mean, yes!? I mean, hello!? I mean… ah!"

She then covered her heavily blushing face with her hat.

…_great, just great! That couldn't have gone any worse!_

Moka blinked, not sure how to react to what just happened.

She then frowned. "Sendo-san… I'm not troubling you, am I? Sorry if I am… I just wanted to talk to you…" She pauses and thinks for a moment before continuing. An idea comes to her, and she smiles and claps her hands. "I know! You should join us for lunch! Would you like that?"

It took all of Yukari's will not to immediately shout 'YES!' just to have a chance to be with Moka. Instead, she mumbled out some sort of acceptance and dashed away before her heart could leap out of her chest and into Moka's arms… or her mouth. Her blush intensified.

_Why me…?_

As for Moka, she returned to her two friends and told about what she had offered the little witch girl. Tskune seemed pleased by the idea of curing Yukari's isolation, but Kurumu just sighed.

"Moka-san, I don't think it'll be that easy…"

"Even if it isn't, I still want to try," countered Moka. "After all, I know what it's like to be so hated and isolated. Indulge me just this once, please~?" she asked with a wink.

Kurumu blushed. "Alright, alright… we'll help you out, right Tsukune-kun?"

"Yep!"

With that, the matter was settled and the group went back to the matter at hand – training Tsukune's observational skills – and continued walking along.

* * *

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Adjust hat.

Stand up straight.

_Alright, Yukari, you can do this. You're going to right up to Moka and her friends, but mostly Moka, and ask to sit with them. She already told you that she wants you there. So, go already!_

…but her legs refused to move. In the end, Moka had to drag her over. She sat on the same side of the bench as Moka while the other two sat next to each other. Kurumu and Tsukune, right? She had met the three of them when they visited the Witchcraft Club and… thinking about that incident was just going to make her even more embarrassed to speak, so maybe something else…

Yukari, blushing and staring down at her food, remained silent in thought.

Moka, smiling happily, started chatting about classes as the remaining three of them ate. Tsukune had on a thoughtful expression as he discussed the exam results with her. As it turned out, people's whose scores dropped too low would be stuck in summer school rather than getting a break. Moka (and Gin, as it turned out) were in no danger, but Tsukune and Kurumu would be if things stayed as they are. He was improving a bit thanks to their study sessions though.

Kurumu, however, did not join in this conversation. She had a deeply set frown on her face, as she could easily sense the whirlwind of emotions in Yukari's soul. Love for another; hate for the self – a poisonous mixture if left unaddressed. It wasn't really her business, but…

…Moka wanted her to help. So, she could indulge her newfound best friend just a little bit.

Since they were talking about the loathsome exams, she had an excuse to get Yukari talking. "Yukari-san, didn't you get a top score in almost every first-year exam? How come you're here even though you're an eleven-year old? I thought they forced us all to stay in human schools until high school… and a genius student like you could go really far in the human world."

Having someone besides Moka address her directly allowed Yukari to break through her own self-consciousness and give a direct answer. "Eh? Oh, I was home-schooled. I learned a lot of this stuff already, so it's easy for me. My parents actually didn't want me to come here at all, but I managed to talk them into letting me enroll."

"Didn't want you to…? Oh, because you're a witch?" asked Kurumu.

Yukari nodded. "That's right. You know about us?"

"How could I not? All us youkai know about witches, the boundary beings. The ones bridging the gap between humans and us. Too much like humans to be close to youkai and too much like youkai to be close to humans. Hated by both groups. You're quite brave to so openly be a witch around here, you know." Kurumu punctuated that statement with a bright smile for the little girl.

Yukari giggled, her mood having brightened a bit. _Moka sure has good friends. Maybe I'll have friends like that too… Yeah, that's what I want!_ She then thanked Kurumu for the kind words.

"Still, witches are youkai too right?" asked Tsukune.

"Yep!" confirmed Yukari.

"You know, this hatred of witches has never made any sense to me," said Moka. She turned to Yukari and took the witches hands in her own, apparently not noticing how red the little girl's face became when she did that. "Sendo-san, I want you to know that I'm on your side. If you're ever troubled by anything, don't hesitate to talk to me! I'd like to help you out!"

Kurumu sighed. _Moka-san, that's not helping…_

Even Tsukune noticed something was up, and butted in. "Err… I might not be much help, but you can talk to me too, Yukari-chan. And sorry to pry, but I was wondering… what was up with that guy who was messing with you that day? He said he was your class president?"

"Ah, right!" exclaimed Moka, who then released Yukari's hands. "Has he done anything since?"

Still blushing, Yukari turned to face Tsukune so that she didn't have to look directly into Moka's kind eyes anymore. She didn't trust herself not to break down and confess her feelings then and there if she didn't. "No… he's just ignoring me now. So is everyone else in my class, even the teachers…" She then paused, as if in thought, before continuing. "But you know what… it doesn't matter. I don't need any of them anyway, because I have you three. You're all I need."

Both Kurumu and Tsukune gave her an odd look when she said that, but she cared not because Moka came to her side. "Yes, please join us whenever you wish, Sendo-san. You're always welcome." She then patted Yukari on the head, and the witch girl giggled happily. Yukari leaned into Moka's side as the two of them returned to their meals.

Tsukune and Kurumu glanced at each other. He shrugged, not sure what to do. She nodded, and took the lead. "But Yukari-chan, wouldn't it be easier for you if they stopped ignoring you? You know you can't spend all your time with us, right? I don't think it's a good idea for you to-"

Yukari cut her off, now annoyed at Kurumu's 'help'. "It'll be fine~!" She then hugged Moka, who reciprocated. "As long I have Moka-san and you two, I don't need anyone else! They don't want me there anyway… actually, now that I think about it, they probably wouldn't even care if I switched to one of your classrooms instead. So I can be with Mo- you all more often!"

Only Moka didn't notice Yukari's sudden correction.

Kurumu glared at Yukari, but stopped herself from being too hostile. The whirlwind was only getting stronger. "I'm not saying you have to confront them yourself. We could help and-"

"This is all the help I need!" interjected Yukari, nuzzling her face into Moka's side. Moka blushed a little, but said nothing. "I don't want to be around them either! They're all terrible! They bully me for being a witch and when I try to defend myself, they just bully me harder! I'm not going back and that's that!" She then stuck her tongue out at Kurumu.

"Umm… Kurumu-chan, Yukari-chan, maybe this isn't the-"

But it was too late for an attempt to broker peace now. Kurumu slammed her fist on the table, enraged that her aid was being thrown away like yesterday's trash. "Look, I understand how you feel, but this isn't going to go how you think! If you let them chase you out of the class, what's to stop them from chasing you out of the school!? Then how will you be with Moka-san!? And besides, do you really think that her class won't have any bigots either!?"

"That doesn't matter, I'll have her there and that'll be enough! Just let me be!"

"You need to be able to stand up on your own! Moka-san can't be your everything!"

"Says who!? She doesn't mind, right, Moka-san?"

"Err, I…"

But she didn't get to answer, as Kurumu shouted over her. "Of course, she would mind! You can't just decide these things for her like that!"

"I'm not 'deciding' anything! She said she wanted to help and this would help me!"

"All it's going to do is make things worse!"

"How do you know that!?"

"Because I-!"

Moka coughed, and the two of them fell silent. They all turned to face her.

"If I may… Sendo-san, it wouldn't bother me much if you had no choice but to join my class, but… I also think it'd be best if you could have a better relationship with your own class. This might surprise you, but I also know what it's like to be isolated and ostracized by your peers. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'd like to help you if I can and if you want. …oh! Ummm…" Moka fidgeted with her rosary before finding some resolve and taking it in her hand. "…the other me wants to say something as well… so prepare yourself, she can be pretty blunt."

With that, she took the rosary in hand and transformed into her silver-haired alter ago.

The other Moka gave Yukari a disdainful glare. "Sendo Yukari… release me at once."

The little witch girl did so almost immediately, getting up and backing away from her suddenly hostile idol. The vampire stood as well and casually followed her. Kurumu and Tsukune, sensing that something was wrong trailed behind them.

"A weakling like you has no place by my side. You're not like Kurumu-chan or Tsukune-kun… you don't have any fire within you… a blaze that could match my own. You're a moth drawn to my flames… but too easily overwhelmed by their might." She glared daggers right into Yukari's eyes. "You're pathetic. Get out of my sight."

Yukari, who was on the verge of tears during to the other Moka's verbal onslaught, broke down in loud tears and ran away.

This Moka turned to face her friends, and was promptly slapped by Kurumu. But to be honest, this Moka was so strong that the attack hurt Kurumu's hand more than it hurt Moka's face. The succubus knew that and did it anyway. "You went too far," was all Kurumu said.

"Perhaps… but, I will not apologize. You'll see… I have a plan," replied the vampire with a smirk on her face. "Now then… back to your lunch."

She relinquished control to the pink-haired Moka, who started profusely apologizing to her two friends. She offered to go immediately apologize to Yukari, but Kurumu warned her not to. She might just make things worse instead, Kurumu feared. Better to wait and observe for now…

Because the whirlwind had only intensified further still.

* * *

Yukari spent the rest of lunch hiding behind a building, coiled in on herself and crying once more.

So then, it was true.

Even the few people who didn't hate her didn't really want her around. She was nothing to them. She was… why was she even here? It had all been for nothing. She should have listened to her parents and kept on with her home-schooling… at least they loved her.

The bell rang. But she didn't hear it, having fallen asleep from her emotional rollercoaster.

She suddenly awoke much later, feeling a menacing presence nearby. She pulled out her wand, stood up, and started walking around, fueled by adrenaline. It didn't feel like the other Moka… there was… three of them, maybe? It was hard to tell. There was a small patch of woods nearby, and she walked in, feeling they were lurking around in there.

"Well, hello there."

She swiveled in place to see who it was.

"Oh, class pres! Good, it's just you."

She breathed a sigh of relief. He glared at her and growled.

"Just me? Honestly, where is your respect for your betters?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Did our teacher send you because I was late?"

His glare intensified. "You've missed the entire rest of the school day. And frankly, I don't care for your insolence, little witch girl. You've been a thorn in my side since Day 1…"

She glared back, wagging her wand at him. "What are you talking about? You're the one who started bullying me on the first day of school! You're the thorn here!"

She stuck her tongue out at him, only incensing him further. She thought to herself, maybe it's a bad idea to antagonize someone who's been harassing you as long as you've known him. But with the emotional rollercoaster she had been on the past few days, she was finding it hard to care much about him. Not when her precious Moka was now forever out of reach.

He responded to her taunt by partially transforming into a lizardman, revealing scaled skin and rows upon rows of sharp teeth. He roared aloud, beckoning his two friends closer.

"You know, I was going to stick to my agreement with Akashiya Moka and make her deal with your petulant attitude. But you know what? I'm sick of you! It's time you learned your place, you lowly witch!"

Yukari's confidence faded as they approached. What was she supposed to do against the three of them? She unknowingly backed herself into a tree, shivering with fright, putting her wand up in front of her as if it along could protect her.

She looked at her wand with tears in her eyes.

_A weakling like you has no place by my side._

She…

_You're pathetic. Get out of my sight._

…she was…

_You're quite brave to so openly be a witch around here, you know._

…she was weak, but…

_You need to be able to stand up on your own! Moka-san can't be your everything!_

…could she…?

_I also think it'd be best if you could have a better relationship with your own class._

…she needed to…

_Sendo-san, I want you to know that I'm on your side._

…she had to change. But not for Moka. For herself.

With a small fire of determination lighting her path, she waved her wand and summoned a washtub that fell on to the class president's head, knocking him out. It did nothing to stop his allies from reaching, overpowering, and attacking her, but the point had been made.

She had won, just this once.

* * *

Elsewhere, Tsukune, Kurumu, and Moka were walking through a patch of woods, heading towards their training spot. Moka was still concerned about Yukari, but Tsukune and Kurumu managed to convince her to relax for now and promised to check up on her later.

"She's probably just moping around somewhere, you know?" pointed out Kurumu. "The other you really did a number on her, even if she did have a point."

"You… do you think she… that I did the right thing? Kurono-san, Aono-kun?" Moka asked.

Kurumu shrugged. "Who knows? The girl can't worship you forever. This would have happened eventually, I think."

Tsukune agreed. "Right, it's better if she can stand on her own."

Kurumu gave him a pointed glance at that statement but had to admit that he had a point. It was just the same with him. As much as she believed she could keep him safe from other youkai, there was only so much she could do. Didn't mean it made her happy to admit that though. She pouted at him and latched onto his arm, giggling as he sighed wearily in response.

"Still, I wonder where… umm, Moka-san? You're drooling…"

Sure enough, she was. She pulled out a napkin and wiped her face on it.

"Sorry, I don't know what's come over me!" She was constantly sniffing the air and looking around, almost like she was playing the role of a bloodhound and searching for something.

Kurumu was just chuckling at her friend's antics, but Tsukune felt that something was up. Maybe there was…

A hint of black and a patch of red-dyed grass happened to catch his eye.

"Hey, someone's over there!"

With no concern for his own safety or the fact that Kurumu was still latched onto him, he rushed over to what he assumed was an injured person. She was just about to chide him for rushing into what could be something dangerous before looking down and seeing who it was.

"Ah! Yukari-san! What happened to you!?"

The girl was a bloody and bruised mess. One of her arms was very clearly broken, her wand was shattered, and her hat was torn apart. Thankfully though, she was just unconscious.

Moka rushed over when she heard Kurumu's shouting.

"Sendo-san! Can you hear me? Sendo-san!"

She caressed Yukari's cut open face, and forced herself not to react to all the delicious-smelling blood. The girl reacted to her touch, squirming in pain.

Moka picked the girl up, not caring about the blood now staining her own uniform, while Kurumu and Tsukune gathered up the pieces of Yukari's broken wand and torn hat.

"Urgh… ugh…"

"Sendo-san, it'll be okay! We'll get you to the infirmary soon!"

The sudden movement stirred Yukari, and she briefly arose from her forced slumber. With vision blurry and confused mind, she blurted out the first thing on her mind.

"Moka-san… you're an… angel… thanks…"

She then nuzzled into Moka's chest and relaxed, going to sleep in comfort.

The vampire blushed a bit at that. But she couldn't agree with the little witch girl. After all, she blamed herself for Yukari's predicament. This must have been the work of Yukari's bullies. Even if her other self was right, she had chased Yukari away and made her vulnerable to their assault. If only she hadn't… but… would this have happened anyway?

It was so hard to say.

* * *

"!"

Yukari jolted awake, having tried to move her broken right arm in her sleep.

"AAAAAGH!"

In a pained panic, she clutched it with her left hand, trying to soothe herself. Without a wand in hand, she could only use magic on herself, but thankfully her parents had forced her to learn healing magic. She'd still be sore, but at least she wouldn't be in such pain…!

A voice rang out from behind the curtain.

"Ah, Sendo-san, you're awake."

The nurse, Tsumugi-sensei. She looked around. She was on a hospital bed. There was blood running into her from a bag, so she must have lost quite a bit after those bullies got to her. After they broke her wand and then her arm, they roughed her up a bit and she was knocked out during that whole thing. She had a weird dream and then woke up here.

Nearby on a chair were the remains of her wand and her hat. Someone must have found her and brought her here. But who…?

She looked up and the nurse had arrived to her bedside, looking clinically at her.

"Witches can heal themselves even without their wands, yes? So, you should be fine soon. You may spend the night though if you wish. Would you like me to call your friends and tell them you've awoken? …Why do you look so confused? Akashiya-san, Aono-san, and Kurono-san referred to you as their friend when they dropped you off here. Do you think they are wrong?"

…

Tears started welling up in the young witch's eyes.

She forced herself to answer the nurse, telling her that she would handle things with the others and that she was good to leave. Tsumugi-sensei, having no issue with this, unhooked her from the blood bag and helped her out of bed.

Yukari, with her broken body and belongings, left knowing that she was no longer alone.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – "I'd like to talk to you, to listen to you."

The next day, Yukari arrived to a changed classroom. Wanibuchi Tadashi, the class president, and his two henchmen were absent. She could hear that everyone was gossiping when she entered hatless and wandless, and the instant she set foot in the room all eyes were on her. She flinched and hesitated at the doorstep.

One of her male classmates approached her. "…Sorry!"

She blinked, uncomprehending.

"We heard about what happened to you from Moka-san and her two friends! We shouldn't have gone along with what the class president wanted."

"That's right!" exclaimed another student, a girl.

More voices rang out.

"We want you to be part of the class now!"

"Hey, sit over here with us!"

"Sendo-san, come in already!"

She was practically dragged into the classroom, with tears streaming down her eyes.

_Moka… Kurumu-chan… Tsukune-kun… thank you all so much!_

* * *

As for those three, none of them were surprised when Yukari later showed up for a Newspaper Club meeting, asking if she could join the club. Gin was skeptical of the little witch girl's intentions, but he was quickly overruled by the rest of the club, especially Moka. Yukari eagerly took a seat next to Moka and started to work, helping them on the latest issue. Witches keep a keen eye on technological developments, so Yukari was the most familiar with how to work with a computer, even more so than Tsukune the secret human. She was put in charge of editing and formatting the newspaper, while everyone else continued to gather stories and determine what other content would be present.

Many stories and rumors had been floating around recently, meaning there were plenty of events happening worth reporting on. Saizou was still missing, and no one had seen hide nor hair of him in weeks. Nagare had been forced to end his harassment campaign against multiple students and had been threatened with expulsion. And recently, female students who were in the company of a certain teacher – Ishigami Hitomi – had begun to disappear, the first vanishing having happened weeks ago.

"We'll need to be careful about that one," said Gin. "If things are really that bad, the Public Safety Commission will censor the story and we'll need to run something else."

"But... if a teacher is really behind this, then-!"

"The people deserve to know. I agree, Moka-san," interrupted Gin, "but it means we'll have to find another way to spread the word."

"Like... spreading a rumor of our own?" asked Kurumu.

Gin nodded. "We'd need to stay anonymous."

Tsukune and Yukari hung back and kept focused on writing and editing, respectively, as the other three decided how best to handle this rumor and the possible reaction against addressing it in the paper. Fortunately, the answer would come to them in due time. For once news spread about how Yukari had gotten her bully to stop, many others rebelled in the same way.

For the first time in years, the Public Safety Commission was actually forced to do their job and address public safety as Enforcers. And that led to one of their members coming the News Club for help putting a certain rumor to rest...

* * *

"Ah, girls, you're both here! Do come in now..."

The two girls gave each other wary looks, and stepped into the art room. One from the Newspaper Club – Akashiya Moka. One from the Public Safety Commission – Ganjonasu Keito.

How had things come to this? The rumor of the missing girls had gained enough momentum that it reached the ears of the Public Safety Commission. Naturally, there was no way they could believe that one of their teachers – a highly celebrated and popular one at that – would be foolish enough to directly assault students under their watch.

...but, just in case, it couldn't hurt to investigate. Only one person needed to be spared, they thought, and Keito drew the short straw.

The Enforcer glared at Moka before addressing the teacher. "You do realize why we're here Ishigami-sensei? The fact that so many students have gone missing under your watch... it's not something we can afford to ignore. Justice must be done, regardless of who the culprit is."

The art teacher chuckled while clapping her hands together. "Certainly, certainly... I would expect no less from your illustrious group." _Not that you'll find anything... I've hidden my precious art away from your prying eyes... I won't be able to add Akashiya-san to my collection just yet, but I'm willing to wait for such a beautiful prize._ "Now then, I believe Akashiya-san is still my student? Let's get to today's lesson... As for you, Ganjonasu-san, you may search around as you wish."

The chairs were arranged in a semi-circle despite the fact that there would be no crowd. Two easels were facing away from each other in the center, with supplies for oil painting scattered on the ground. The two sat down behind their respective easels, Ishigami's being out of view from the other two girls, as she liked it. It wouldn't do to for them to realize what – or rather, _who_ – she was painting. Not yet, anyway.

As for Moka, she was focused on painting her four subjects – her three new-found friends, and herself. It was meant to be a present for Tsukune's birthday, so she was in a bit of a time crunch if she wanted it to be ready by then. Was turning to this supposed criminal for help during her time of need a good idea? Maybe not, but it gave her an opportunity.

Keito, meanwhile, was just walking around the room and observing things... and leaving behind secret threads of silk strewn about everywhere. She passed from the classroom to the storage room, but found nothing obviously wrong. Though all that meant as far as she was concerned was that the teacher wasn't stupid enough to leave evidence in plain sight...

When Keito returned to the classroom, Ishigami was standing behind Moka and observing her paint. "You're improving nicely," was all she said before returning to her own painting.

"Well, I don't see anything. But do keep an eye out for me, Ishigami-sensei."

_I don't take orders from you!_ "Of course, Ganjonasu-san. Are you departing?"

"Yes, I have to report this. Fare-!"

She paused, freezing in place. Her eyes narrowed.

"...That's right, I didn't check the ceiling, did I?"

Keito turned around and started heading back to the storage room.

Ishigami stood up, suddenly concerned. "Now, hold on a second! There's no need to-!"

"Ishigami-sensei, we're still in the lesson," was all Moka said, pausing from her painting to glance at her teacher. "Let her do her thing, okay?"

"I can't allow that!"

"And why would that be?" asked Moka, now standing up.

"Well, it's, uhhh..."

Suddenly, Keito burst forth from the storage room, partially transformed. Before Ishigami could react, the art teacher was ensnared in a cocoon of silk covering everything except her face.

"What!? How did you know!?"

"One of the statues wept, and the tears fell upon my threads," answered a furious Keito, lurching back into the classroom. "You realize you're going to be fired for this, right? Turning our youkai girls into your personal art collection... despicable."

Reverting back to normal, Keito took out her anger by kicking Ishigami square in the face, knocking down her easel in the process and revealing an unfinished portrait that vaguely resembled the other Moka.

"Keito..."

Moka wasn't sure what to say. Thank the girl? Chastise the girl? Understand the girl?

She didn't get to say anything, because Keito spoke first.

"I expect you'll be wanting to report on this right? Well, just make sure to mention how I took care of everything and I'll make sure it goes through. Now help me get these statues down..."

Moka sighed and went along. The time for understanding would have to come later.

Right now, they had a job to do.

* * *

As Moka explained what had happened to the rest of the Newspaper Club, each had their own reactions to the news. Yukari glomped onto Moka, ecstatic that the vampire girl had evaded any harm. Gin wasn't surprised that such illicit activity had been going on under the watch of the Public Safety Commission, but was disappointed just the same. Kurumu hoped that all the other youkai girls would be well. Tsukune meanwhile, couldn't help but wonder even more if he could survive here. If the teachers were willing to attack the students, knowing they were youkai, then for him...

He gulped. Secrecy would be even more important than ever.

"...Anyway, we can still report on it, but they want all the credit," finished Moka with her verbal report. "Morioka-sempai, I think this is fine for now, but we're going to run into issues in the future of they stay so emboldened. We really should..."

Gin sighed. "I know. But we don't have the firepower to fight back against them. Kuyou is no joke of a fighter, and that will be his first response to any criticisms of his order."

"We'll need everyone's support," chimed in Kurumu. "Or, at least from most of the students. It might be easier than we think, given how they're handling things."

For in truth, the Public Safety Commission was not taking to the newfound requirements of actually having to do their job very well. Rather than just confronting the bullies, as the masses wanted, they went after both the bullies and the bullied. When someone fought back, they brought the hammer down on that student instead of the aggressor. Dissent was suppressed with force, and no compassion for the weak was levied. All in all, a storm was brewing, but there was not yet any talk of doing anything about the Public Safety Commission as a mass of students. That was still unthinkable.

At least, for now.

"True," agreed Gin. "But we'll need to be careful. And let's not use club time on this. For now, continue investigating rumors. Don't go around feeding any fires. It's not safe."

Everyone agreed, and they went back to preparing the next issue of the newspaper. And during that time, who should appear but...

"Hello everyone! I need a favor, nya~!"

...the club's adviser, Nekonome-sensei, carrying a small stack of papers. True to her first impression, she did not come around very often, trusting blindly in them to keep things running smoothly. No one had the heart to tell her about how Gin nearly ruined everything before it could begin. Whenever she did come around though, it was mostly to provide encouragement and fish. Lots and lots of fish, often raw. They started hiding some cooking supplies for Kurumu to make something tasty of the offerings. But paperwork? That was new.

Everyone stared at her in confusion.

"Nekonome-sensei? Do you need something?" asked Gin.

"Yes! There's a huge problem, nya~! One of the students in my class has stopped showing up and I don't know why. She's not a delinquent like Komiya-kun and she won't talk to me about whatever happened, nya~..."

She turned to look at Tsukune. "Tsukune-san, you're good with girls! You should deliver her homework to her, nya~! Maybe she'll talk to you!"

Only the teacher didn't notice the sudden swelling of menacing intent from Kurumu. Knowing that it was probably on accident, Tsukune squeezed her hand. With his touch, she instantly calmed down, flushing from slight embarrassment over what had just happened.

"Ummm... Nekonome-sensei, if you couldn't get her to talk, what makes you think I could?" asked Tsukune. "I haven't really talked to most of the other students in class. So, you know her better than I do." Not that he had anything against them, of course, but the fewer people he interacted with, the less likely he was to be found out. Even Gin and Yukari were in the dark, and these were two youkai he was starting to trust. The time to be more open hadn't yet come.

He had to wonder if it ever would...

Nekonome, on the other hand, was not convinced by Tsukune's excuses.

"Eh!? But Tsukune-kun! Even if that's true, the other students definitely see you as a reliable and hard-working student thanks to all your work for this club, nya~! So it's fine, nya~! It'll definitely work, nya~! So you'll do it, right, nya~!?"

"Ummm..."

"Nekonome-sensei, I can help too," helpfully pointed out Moka.

"Ah, Moka-san, of course, nya~! So, let me tell you the student's name: Shirayuki Mizore. She's in the same girl dorms as Moka-san, Kurumu-san, and Yukari-san. Great, so I'll leave this for you to take care of then, nya~!"

"Wait, now?" asked Moka and Tsukune.

When Nekonome answered in the affirmative, she was then convinced by the rest of the club to hold off until the meeting time was over. The teacher waited impatiently, tail twitching, occasionally pawing at things, until Gin asked her to leave if she wasn't going to help out. That lit a fire up within her, and they finished much earlier than they otherwise would've due to her assistance, the sun still shining brightly. But, of course, she left without giving Tsukune and Moka any help on what to say or directions to Mizore's dorm room.

"Well, good luck with that," said Gin to them, after closing up the room at the end of club time.

Yukari gave Moka a big hug and departed as well. "See you tomorrow~!"

Kurumu, however, stuck around. Certainly not out of jealousy, of course.

"Shirayuki Mizore... I feel like I've heard that name before... but where?" she wondered aloud. When Tsukune and Moka had no answers but realized that they felt the same, they knew there had to be something going on. Perhaps another scoop, but definitely a youkai in need.

They went to the girl's dorms together, the two girls giving cover for Tsukune. It took a bit of searching, but they eventually were able to find Mizore's dorm room. The air down the entire hallway was chilled and subdued. And the door to her room was iced over, in flagrant violation of the rules not to show off one's youkai powers. Not that the rule-keepers cared at all about this lonesome girl. And besides for their teacher, they had no idea if anyone was even checking up on this shut-in girl.

Even Tsukune could feel the youkai's presence though. She was in there.

The three turned to face each other, and with all proper solemnity, resolved the question of who would knock with a simple game of Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Tsukune lost. With resignation, he approached the door.

"Mizore-chan? Are you-"

The ice grew spikes suddenly, and he backed away, falling over, before they could impale him.

"Go away!" was the only reply.

While Moka turned her attention to Tsukune, Kurumu's blood was boiling. "Excuse you!?" she exclaimed. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? We're just here to deliver your homework, and that's how you react!?"

The icy spikes seemed to shiver and retreat under Kurumu's heated glare.

"Please... just go away..."

"Fine!" she spat out. "Your homework's outside, come get it if you dare!"

And with that Kurumu stomped away, leaving Tsukune and Moka to actually leave the homework behind and catch up to their enraged friend. They did not stay to see that girl, sullen and frail, emerge from her room, collect the papers, and return to her isolation.

* * *

"Are you okay, Tsukune-kun? Sorry for stomping off like that... I just got so _angry_... I..."

"It's okay," he replied to keep the peace. Kurumu was clinging to him while the three of them were sitting around in the library. It had become one of their usual hangout spots. "But that girl... what could've happened to her? She didn't seem that bad back when she was in class."

"Shirayuki-san? Yes, she kept mostly to herself," added Moka, who interacted more with the other students. "She seemed... afraid, perhaps, of the male students. She had no female friends either. I didn't talk with her that much either... now I wish I had."

"Oh, is something the matter with Shirayuki-san~?" asked Gakutorou, who happened to be passing by. They explained the situation with the icy girl, and he grew sad. "How unfortunate~! She was a welcome guest here, much like you three~. Though she never opened up to us, she was always respectful of everyone in the Library Club~."

The ghost then paused for a second, in thought. The trio looked at him curiously.

"One day, she came into Library Club distressed~. We tried to talk to her, but she ran away instead of answering our questions~. All she said was that it was 'all over' and that she 'can't take it back'~. I told the rest of the club not to worry about it, but I wasn't satisfied with leaving things like that~. So, I did some investigating and ran across a certain set of rumors~..."

As he explained the rumor, Kurumu realized something and Gakutorou confirmed her suspicions. As it turned out, one of the gym teachers – Kotsubo Okuto – was recently found frozen solid and half-dead. Only the quick intervention of the medical staff saved his life. He never publicly said who did it, but Mizore had already vanished from sight at that point and rumors spread fast at Youkai Academy. Some were saying 'all yuki-onna are like that, luring men into danger', others were blaming the teacher and saying he led her on, a few think she was framed by another youkai, and so on from there. With no unifying truth, the collective imagination rang wild... but this hadn't boiled over just yet due to other ongoing issues.

As for Mizore herself, she repelled any attempts at contact. Nobody could prove she had left her room since then. Though she had to have, right? She still needed to eat, right?

Kurumu put her head in her hands. "Oh no... I think I just made things worse..."

When the ghost asked what she meant by that, Kurumu's face turned bright red and she shoved her face in Tsukune's chest rather than answer. Unfortunately for her, Tsukune was more than willing to tell the librarian about her little fiasco. Gakutorou puffed himself up, annoyed. "Kurono-saaaaan, you must set things riiiiiiiight~," he proclaimed ominously.

"I know, I know..."

She picked herself up, and breathed deeply. She turned to her friends.

"What should we do now?"

* * *

It took some time (and, annoyingly, the approval of the Public Safety Commission) but the gym teacher in question eventually agreed to be interviewed. Tsukune and Kotsubo met in an empty classroom, with Kurumu, Moka, and two Enforcers waiting outside in case of a struggle. Not that it re-assured Tsukune much – depending on what kind of youkai the teacher was, he could be dead long before they could intervene. But appearances had to be kept, after all.

He couldn't help but feel those 'appearances' were going to get him killed.

But for now, he had to focus on the matter at hand. The tape recorder was on and he was ready.

"Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Kotsubo-sensei. You look very healthy nowadays."

The teacher smirked. "Yeah, I think I've finally fully recovered, no thanks to... well, I guess that's the subject of the interview, right? Or rather, she is."

Tsukune nodded. "Then you already know what my first question will be. As for Shirayuki-san, was she the one who left you encased in ice?"

"Yes."

Tsukune blinked. Admitting it so plainly? "Eh? Really?"

"Yes, it was her. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were in a classroom together – "

"This one, right?"

"Yes, exactly. In this very room, in my classroom! I can't believe I let my guard down..."

"Uh, excuse me, sensei? But what were the two of you doing alone?"

"Ah, yes that..." The teacher leaned back in his chair. "She had asked me to come see her alone. Said she had something she had to tell me in private. And then, what do you know... she confessed to me!"

"Eh!? A confession?"

That certainly isn't where he thought this was going to go. He had expected a fight of some kind...

"That's right, a confession! I'm sure you don't care about this kind of thing, but I am quite a catch... or so I've been told."

Tsukune managed to keep a straight face.

"Ah, yes... there's rumors about you and several students..."

"Entirely unfounded. I would never! I'm very strict about this kind of thing."

Tsukune had to resist the urge to challenge him on that, staying on track instead.

"So, then, when Shirayuki-san confessed to you...?"

"I turned her down. And what was my reward? Being frozen solid and left to die! That girl is a menace... Aono-kun, don't you think it would be better of troublesome girls like that were expelled? This time it was me, but maybe it will be you or one of your friends next time."

"I'm the one interviewing you, sensei..." was all he said in response. That was bait, better to ignore it.

"Ah, yes, yes... sorry, go on."

"Can you give me some more details? Why do you think she confessed to you? And why do you think she reacted like that?"

"Hmmm... I think it's a simple matter. You know that girl is a yuki-onna, right? Her type of youkai is protected, because they're at risk of dying out. So, she has to find a man to... well, you know."

"So, you say she chose you for... that."

"Well, I have to admit, I didn't exactly make it hard for her. As a teacher, I think I was one of the few men she actually interacted with. Is it so surprising she might have a crush on me, then? But that kind of crush shouldn't be allowed to get out of hand. She must have felt so heartbroken and overreacted." The teacher sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "I should've acted earlier. Then none of this would've happened... but now, it can't be helped. The damage has been done. She's a dangerous girl who should at least be suspended."

"I see... well, thank you for sharing your perspective. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Yes, my thanks to the students who found me and the medical staff who helped me out. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for them. And thank you for hearing me out!"

The teacher offered him a high-five, and Tsukune hesitantly took it, wanting to show goodwill. With his work done, he departed, and joined up with the rest of the Newspaper Club and the two Enforcers in their clubroom.

After playing back the interview, Tsukune made a bold declaration. "Something isn't quite right. I don't think Kotsubo-sensei was being completely honest."

"Ha! Of courrrrrrrse he wasn't! He was trying to get you to see hiiiiis side only," proclaimed one of the Enforcers, a girl with long red hair and a bo staff by her side named Deshi Deshiko. The lot of them were seated, but she was the only one casually leaning back in the chair as if this were her classroom. She grinned wickedly. "You know what we ought to do to men like that, Kibato-kun?"

Kerubos Kibato, the guy in question, adjusted his glasses. He was a giant of a man, with short black hair and piercing yellow eyes that he didn't bother to conceal. "Deshiko-san, we can't go breaking a teacher's kneecaps just because we want to. We need evidence first. Kuyo will reprimand us if we act rashly. Remember what happened last time."

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh, is that right~? That's too bad..."

She turned to Tsukune. "You're going to get evidence for us, riiiiiiight~?"

Tsukune gulped. Thankfully, Gin decided to actually act as a leader and spoke up.

"Now, now, you don't have to worry. All we need to do is get the truth out of that yuki-onna and it'll be an open and shut case. You'll be able to exact as much justice you want afterwards."

"You can leave that to me!" exclaimed Kurumu, eager to make up for her mistake.

"Ah... you're sure this plan will work, Kurumu-chan?" asked Tsukune.

She nodded. "Of course! You can leave matters of the heart to a succubus!"

"Good, good... you can leave the girl to us once you're done. She still has to be puuuuunishhhhhhhed after all," commented Deshiko, eager to do her job. Beating fools up was the best part of any day as far as she was concerned!

"Ah... ummm..."

Deshiko stared at the succubus. "Ohhhhhhhhh? Do you want to interfere with juuustiiiiice?"

"No, no, I, umm... was hoping you could be a bit lenient with her?"

"Hmmmm... should we be, Kibato-kun? She did a baaaaad thing, after all..."

"Please don't put all the pressure on me to decide things..." Kibato sighed. "I suppose we'll see how she reacts to your... _technique_. And if she submits willingly. Though that's less fun for us, it's better for her. Then we can get on with breaking that teacher's kneecaps."

Deshiko laughed heartily, unnerving everyone else except Gin and Kibato. But with that decided, the group departed for the girl's dorms. Tsukune, Kurumu, and Moka could only hope things went smoothly so the poor girl could finally leave her room and live freely.

Kurumu gritted her teeth in determination. It was all up to her now.

* * *

Kurumu stood alone in front of Mizore's dorm room, door still covered in ice. The rest of the team was down the hall, keeping watch but also keeping away. This part was all her.

Kurumu cleared her throat. The ice shimmered.

"Shirayuki-san, are you there? My name is Kurono Kurumu."

Icy spikes formed again, stopping just short of the succubus. But she didn't retreat.

Instead, she walked up to the hazardous door, placing her hands on the spikes, flinching but not reversing course, getting as close as she dared, making sure she had as much skin contact with the ice as possible without hurting herself. With no hope of direct eye contact, she had to try and charm Mizore through her icicles, a projection of the yuki-onna's power. Rather than seduction, she sent vibes of relaxation and 'letting down your guard'. She had no idea if this was possible, of course, but luckily her plan didn't solely rely on her powers. It also relied on the truth.

"Shirayuki-san, I want to talk to you. I'm... sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to blow up on you. You've been through a lot, haven't you?"

The spikes became rounded and retreated, and a weak voice limped out from the door.

"...no need to apologize..."

Kurumu advanced.

"I insist! With everything that's happened to you, you didn't deserve it. No one's come to listen to you, have they? To hear your side of the story?"

At this point, she was almost at the door, and placed her forehead upon the ice. She shivered, but continued on. "I'd like to talk to you, to listen to you. Is that okay, Shirayuki-san?"

The girl inside mumbled something.

"Eh? What was that?"

"...Mizore..."

Kurumu giggled and backed away from the door.

"Okay, Mizore-chan!"

All the ice retreated, and the door cracked open. A thin girl with long lavender hair pooling behind and wary ice-blue eyes peeked one eye out, looking at her guest for the first time. Kurumu had to wonder what the girl thought when she saw her.

"...can we... talk outside...?" the yuki-onna asked.

Kurumu offered the girl her hand.

"Of course! Follow me!"

* * *

Shirayuki Mizore, despite being taller and lankier than the girl who came to talk to her, hid herself behind Kurumu's frame, minimizing her presence. The girl introduced her to several other students with a whirlwind of names. When she saw that some of them were men, she was tempted to flee, but then Kurumu squeezed her hand and reassured her that these men were okay. Well... at least her precious Tsukune was okay.

All she could do was take the girl's word for it. Her experiences with men so far had all been negative, culminating in...

She shivered.

"Mizore-chan?" asked Tsukune.

She flinched, putting Kurumu between herself and the man.

"Let me handle this... Mizore-chan, it's okay. He's not here. He can't hurt you anymore."

She flinched again at Kurumu's word choice.

The group of them – herself, Kurumu, Tsukune, Moka, Yukari, Gin, Deshiko, and Kibato – were in a clearing not far from the girl's dorms, with a cliff off in the distance. Most of them were seated, but the two Enforcers were standing around, keeping watch. She had no idea why. The only one who could be after her was... he was... because of her, he was...

"Mizore-chan, can you hear me?"

She looked into Kurumu's warm eyes.

"...sorry..."

"It's okay. There's no rush."

She looked away, back at the ground. How was she supposed to get a husband and fulfill her duty to her clan if she couldn't even talk to another girl? She was pathetic. She had to change.

She sighed, trying to relax.

"...you wanted to know... about that day...?"

"That's right. We'd like to hear your story."

"...okay..."

Mizore withdrew into herself, but never let go of Kurumu's outstretched hand. She spoke, despite herself. "He... called me to a classroom alone. He said he had something he wanted to tell me... I... I think he could tell that I had crush on him... so he... he..."

Mizore grew silent. Kurum put her other hand on Mizore's back. "I'm here. We're here. For you."

"...he... he told me he saw how I looked at him... he said it was alright to... for us to... and then he tried to... _I panicked and froze him and ran away and he's dead now isn't he it's all my fault I'm so so sorry I didn't want to I–_!"

Kurumu drew Mizore into a hug, shoving the yuki-onna's face into her chest and shutting her up. "It's okay. He isn't dead." When she noticed the yuki-onna freeze up, she continued. "It's true. Someone found him and the medical staff thawed him out. He's alive."

"That's right, giiiirlie," piped up Deshiko. "And this is an open and shut case. Kibato, I think we've hearrrrrrrd enough. Let's..." She paused, something having caught her attention, and then grinned menacingly. "Ohhhhhh? The fool dares to stalllllllk us?"

Kibato sniffing around, nodded. "Yes. He's nearby." He turned towards the cliff in the distance. "There!"

His cover blown, the partially transformed Kotsubo-sensei revealed himself and approached them, tentacles waving about wildly but not yet on the attack. "Tch! I was hoping you'd have moved closer to the cliff so I could grab you from there," he muttered to himself. "But no matter... I can't let this news get out." He returned back to a human form, and spoke to the students, staying within his attacking range but out of theirs. "Don't mind me, I was just curious what story the girl was going to make up. I told you she's a danger to us all, right? Lying so casually and almost killing me... it's despicable. She needs to be taken care of. You two, you understand, don't you?"

That last question was addressed to the Enforcers. It was pretty clear what he wanted to happen.

They looked at each other and smiled, because they did understand. It was sad that this foolish teacher did not. Ah, oh well... exacting justice the hard way was more fun for them!

As they got into fighting stances, he out his hands up in a disarming gesture. "Hey, now. Not sure why your weapons are pointed at me; I'm the innocent party here."

"Ohhhhhh?" asked Deshiko, playfully.

"You know why," said Kibato, seriously.

Moka, while still seated, had a hand on her rosary, preparing for the worst.

The breeze picked up, rustling the few leaves scattered across the ground.

Then – motion.

The two Enforcers lunged at Kotsubo, staying in human form. The teacher responded by partially transforming, unfurling his massive tentacles at...

"Look out!"

...the seated Newspaper Club, who were saved by the quick action of Moka and Gin. Moka grabbed Yukari while Gin shoved Tsukune out of the way and evaded one of the tentacles' attacks. Meanwhile, Kurumu was barely able to dodge another tentacle due to Mizore freezing up again and becoming panic-stricken, and had to swat away another one with her claws.

"He's after her!" exclaimed Kurumu to everyone else, still holding onto the still Mizore. "We need to get her out of here now!"

"...that seems to be easier said than done... what a nuisance this man is," commented the other Moka, kicking away one tentacle only for it to be replaced with another one.

Gin howled out loud, also having transformed. "Hey now, don't complain too much! We haven't had a good fight in a while! Come on, let's make an opening for her!"

The other Moka grumbled a bit about how she didn't have to take orders from Gin... but ended up complying anyway. The two of them focused on repelling the tentacles while Deshiko and Kibato were occupied fighting Kotsubo himself.

Meanwhile, Kurumu, Tsukune, and Yukari were tending to Mizore, slowly walking her away from the field of battle. She was deathly silent, but still responsive to Kurumu's touch.

"Will she be alright?" asked Tsukune, keeping his eyes on their surroundings.

"She turned so pale..." commented Yukari. "I know a healing spell, will that help?"

Kurumu shook her head. "No, it's not her body that's in pain."

As for Mizore, she was trying – and failing – to calm herself down and do or say anything. Kurumu was stroking her hand and leading her along, away from him... that man... she needed to get away from him... so why couldn't she move on her own!? _What was wrong with her!?_ It wasn't until Kurumu touched her face that she realized she was crying. She shut her eyes.

The succubus started to speak. "Hey. Mizore-chan. Look at me. We won't let anything..."

"Look out!"

Tsukune interrupted the moment, shoving the two of them away from a stray tentacle that had escaped everyone else's notice. Blind, it grabbed him by the neck instead and dragged him away.

"Tsukune-kun!" screamed Kurumu.

"...!"_ w-why... why did he..._

All she could do was watch. All she could do was nothing. All she could do was...

...

No.

There was something she could do.

"Mizore-chan?"

Focusing intently, she condensed water out of the air into an icicle and had it impale the tentacle in place. It jerked violently in pain, dropping Tsukune back to the ground. He was then able to evade the writhing appendage until it stopped moving.

At the same time, Kotsubo violently screamed in pain, giving the two Enforcers the opening they needed to take him down – Kibato with a heavy kick to the stomach, and Deshiko following up by smacking him across the head with her staff. He fell over, unconscious and now missing several teeth.

"Mizore-chan! That... that was... _amazing!_"

Kurumu practically tackled her, giving her another great big hug. She mumbled out something, not really knowing what to say, trying hard not to focus on how _warm_ and _soft_ Kurumu was and the rather unhelpful feelings she was having right now about this girl. Eventually Kurumu let her go... and then she realized everyone was staring at her.

"..."

She was silent, again.

Deshiko broke the silence with her laughter. "Hahaha, not bad giiiiirlie! You can relaaaaax; we just wanted him, you know. ...welllllllll, I guess you didn't know, but you do now! Hahaha!"

Kibato nodded. "Yes, we'll take him away. Kuyo was looking for an excuse to take this man down anyway. His sister will be enrolling next year and he'll have graduated, so you've done us a huge favor. We won't forget this, Mizore-chan, trust me."

"Ehhhhh? He's fiiiiiiinally calling her his sisteeeeer? When did that happen?"

"A few weeks ago. Please pay attention to things like that... anyway, we'll be off now. I think we'll discuss how to report this later?"

He asked that, but it wasn't really a question. The Newspaper Club knew the two would be at one of their meetings in the next few days.

Both Gin and Moka transformed back to their usual forms. Tsukune returned to the group, heavily bruised but otherwise fine. They all decided to take him down to the Infirmary just in case...

...but not before thanking Mizore profusely for saving him.

Mizore, not know what to do with all this positive attention, blushed and stammered out something about how really _she_ should be thanking _them_ and she wasn't a big deal, so why the fuss and other excuses, but she was stopped in this effort by Tsukune, taking her hand in his.

Her blush deepened... but that was all. Hear fear was gone.

"Seriously. Thank you, Mizore-chan. If you ever need help from us, don't hesitate to reach out."

Kurumu pouted. "Tsukune-kun~! I was supposed to say that!"

Then the succubus took her other hand. "But he's right! We're here for you, Mizore-chan!"

The rest of the group agreed, and escorted her back to her dorm room.

...

Left alone again, she found herself missing them almost immediately.

She looked at her hands, and thought about the warmth the two of them – especially Kurumu – had given her. She did eventually return to her companions in the Library Club, much to their pleasure, but continued thinking about those two, wondering about them and how they were doing. But – in her heart – she didn't really see herself as worthy of being their friend, settling for obsessively reading each of the Newspaper Club issues, focusing on the articles Kurumu and Tsukune wrote. Maybe one day, she would be bold enough to approach them, be with them.

She could only dream of that day coming soon.


End file.
